The Magical Matchmaker
by Melzy89
Summary: A service for rich wizards wanting matches with beautiful witches catches Sirius's eye as a chance for easy prey. Dragging James along for the ride, neither know exactly how difficult the task will end up being. Rating raised by request (but think of it as rated at a "How I Met Your Mother" level). AU setting.
1. To Diagon Alley

"JAAAAMES!"

The whole bar looked to the door where Sirius Black stood looking like a man on a mission. A few women at the bar started whispering at his appearance. He was a bit of a regular at the bar and... well.. at these girls apartments. With his long black hair and deep gray eyes, it was easy for them to fall for him over and over again.

At their normal booth, James Potter sunk low until only the very top of his head could be seen over the booth seat. Spotting the messy hair however was all Sirius needed to zoom into the seat opposite James.

"Hi Sirius," said Peter rolling his eyes as he moved over to fit Sirius into the booth.

"Not now Peter," said Sirius dismissively. "James, we have to get to Diagon Alley."

"What are we chopped liver?" asked Remus Lupin smirking. He took a sip of his beer slinging.

"You're not chopped liver. I don't like liver and I like you guys okay," said Sirius quickly. "But you can't come with me to Diagon Alley because you have Julia and Peter, you have the secret girlfriend in Canada you always tell us about."

"Her name is Elizabeth and she's a secretary for a law firm," Peter said blushing.

"We know Peter," said Julia sarcastically from under Remus's arm. "You've told us that constantly."

"But have I also mentioned that…"

"She's a part time model," echoed the peanut gallery of James, Remus and Sirius. Peter decided he was better off finishing his beer than talking anymore about his "girlfriend."

"But what do I have to do with your trip to Diagon Alley?" asked Julia.

"And a better question is what _I _have to do with it," said James moving from his place halfway under the table.

"You have EVERYTHING to do with it!" Said Sirius excitedly, almost smacking the waitress. "Oh! Heather! Can I have the usual?" Heather nodded and walked away adding a sexy wiggle to her walk. Sirius leaned out of the booth to watch her walk away. "Have I slept with that one yet?"

"Yeah, in February," asked Remus.

"It's June! I think its time for another trip on that ride."

"Sirius shut up," said James shacking his head. "Focus. Why were you screaming my name just for a trip to Diagon Alley?"

"_This_," Sirius slapped a brochure down on the table, "is why."

Grabbing it from the table, James eyes widened. "A matchmaker?"

"Aren't those scams?" asked Remus questioningly.

"I don't think so actually. My cousin met her husband through a matchmaker," said Julia grabbing the brochure from James. "Think this might be the same woman. She specializes in matching wealthy wizards with beautiful witches."

"EXACTLY!" yelled Sirius excitedly, scaring Heather as she tried to place the drink on the table. "Sorry Heather," he said winking. Heather rolled her eyes and started walking away. "Hey Heather!"

Heather turned around and walked back to the table. Slinging her long blond hair behind her shoulder, she raised an eyebrow "What do you want Sirius?"

"Are you a strong swimmer?"

"No, why?"

"Well, I'd be happy to teach you a think or two about breast stroking."

Heather leaned over the table, positioning herself seductively toward Sirius.

"Oh could you?"

Sirius smirked leaning forward, eying her cleavage. "Oh yes."

Heather moved fast, smacking him across the face. "Well I can teach you a think or two about cheek smacking. Let me know if you need another lesson."

As she walked away, Sirius turned to his mates with a smile. "Oh she wants me."

"Sure she does Sirius," said James with a laugh. "Guess we can skip the matchmaker then."

"No, no, no! You don't get out of this that easy."

"Why do we even need matchmakers? Don't you get enough ladies?"

Sirius looked shocked. "There is no such thing is enough ladies. I could have a room full of women all focused on my pleasure and I think the last thought in my head would be 'oh, I wish there were less women here.'"

"Sounds like a lot of pressure to me," muttered Peter quietly. The group ignored him as Sirius continued.

"Think about it James!" said Sirius snatching the brochure back from Julia and putting it in front of James's face. "These women are desperate! They'll throw themselves at us! _And_ we'll have our pick. We're the smart, handsome, wealthy men and they are the gold digging, love obsessed, women. Shower them with some attention over the others and then suddenly we're just showering with them."

James sighed. "I really don't need that kid of girl Sirius. I'm fine on my own."

"It has been a while since you've dated anyone James," said Julia quietly.

"Hey!" said Remus, "Leave him alone."

"I'm just saying. Its been more than 5 months since Amelia."

"I've been on some dates," said James grabbing his drink.

"And when was the last time there was a second date?" pressed Julia.

"Better question!" piped in Sirius, "When was the last time you slept with one of them!"

James chocked on his vodka tonic.

"That answers our question," laughed Peter.

James frowned, "And how is Elizabeth, Peter?"

"Yeah, yeah," said Peter quietly.

"_Come on_ Jamsie! This will be fun!" said Sirius getting antsy in his seat.

"You and I have different definitions of fun."

"This isn't for me, this is for you!" Sirius declared. Seeing he wasn't winning this way, he decided to take another strategy. "Fine, we'll just go and grab some quidditch supplies, happy?"

"Really?" James said skeptically. "Just for quidditch?"

"Would I lie to you?" Sirius put on his best puppy dog face. After a moment he cracked into a winning smile. "Ok, don't answer that. Let's just go." Without waiting for a response, Sirius started racing for the door.

James stood up laughing. "I'll catch up with you guys later. And Peter, are you sure you don't want to come with us to the store?"

"Naw. I've got … a floo call with Elizabeth in a few hours," he said, not making eye contact.

Shrugging, James left for the apparition site.

A moment after the door closed, Remus looked to the others, "Ok, whose turn is it to pay for Sirius's drink this time?"

**_Hello world! I used to write under another Pen Name but read through my old stories and decided I was not passionate about them anymore. Starting fresh, welcome to the first of hopefully a few different stories._**

**_Watching trashy TV is inspiring. I had the idea for this story while watching Millionaire Matchmaker last week. This will be a mix of that show, the matchmaker episode of How I Met Your Mother and thoughts for my crazy little head._**

**_Please let me know what you think and if you have any suggestions on where I should take the story next, leave me a message in the comments._**

**_Much love!_**

**_Melissa_**


	2. Number Punching

"No!" said Lily angrily. "I will not have that whorish gold digger in my club! She's short, her hair is disgusting and she's already admitted that she's not looking for marriage right now. She is not right for our clients! Tell her to go to Bella's Donnas down in Camden. I will not and cannot match her."

Lily's office walls were covered in framed wedding photos of former clients while her desk was covered in head shots of beautiful women.

Hanging up the phone, Lily pressed for the intercom. "Jonathan, come in here."

The door opened and in came Lily's right hand man. Seeing him dressed to the nines in a Versace suit, Lily couldn't help but reflect what a shame it was for the female community that he batted for the other team.

"Please tell me you've found me 20 promising women for the club?"

"I'm not sure if you'll like all the ones I've found but I have a few more applications for you."

"You only have to ask yourself one question Jon," said Lily. "Look at me." And he did. It wasn't hard. Even if he was gay, he could recognize that his boss was an attractive lady. With a mess of red curls down to her shoulders, she looked like a tall glass of water in a black dress with black and red tights. "The only thing you need to remember Jonathan is that if a man would rather spend 5 minutes on an island with them rather than me, she's in."

"It's a tall order Lily."

"I could walk down this street and find 10 capable witches fitting the description in five minutes. The trouble is, most of them are taken. That's where we come in. Finding the ones who are still searching and who need our help." Taking a sip from her water bottle, she turned to the more important question at hand. "And please tell me we have some clients this week."

Smiling, Jonathan said, "I have two men in the lobby. I think you'll like one of them but…"

"But what?"

"He's currently unconscious."

Lily looked up from her desk perplexed. "Is he a coma patient or something?"

Jonathan laughed. "No. His buddy said he was just asleep. I think he stupefied him since he said he'd wake him up when it was time to come into your office."

"Well that does sound interesting," said Lily raising her eyebrows. "Did you take his head shot while he was knocked out?"

"I figured you'd still want to see them before I sent them in." Jonathan pulled two pictures and applications out from his notepad and handed them over.

"You know me so well." She grabbed the shots and put them in her lap. "Tell them I will be ready for them in five minutes."

Nodding, Jonathan left the room.

Clearing space on her desk, Lily placed the head shots down and smiled in surprise. They were much more attractive than her usual clientele. Most of the wealthy wizards coming for her services fit into two categories. The ones she typically picked up were between 40 and 60 years old and somewhat awkward.

The head shot on top showed the conscious applicant. He seemed to fit into her secondary category but only time would tell. He had long black hair and deep gray eyes. The striking jaw line would sure appeal to her pool of women. She checked his application and saw he fit the income bill (surpassing it widely thanks to an inheritance from an uncle).

Moving onto the unconscious applicant, she smiled to herself. She only had time to glace over his application confirming his fit for the program before the door burst open.

"Where is he?" cried the messy haired, now conscious applicant as the black haired man closed the door.

"Oh darn," cried Sirius. "I think Gavin Bluvitt jumped right out the window."

Lily laughed, catching the attention of the messy haired man for the first time. "The quidditch player?"

"Yeah, Sirius said I had passed out when he came into the quidditch shop and that seeing my state, wanted to meet me here."

"So you must be Mr. Potter," said Lily rising from her desk and stretching out a hand. "I'm Ms. Evans, matchmaker extraordinaire."

James smiled and extended his hand, "I figured that out after noticing the lack of professional quidditch players in the room. Sirius here has shown me your flyer." Turning to gesture to Sirius, he saw his comfortably sitting in the chair opposite Lily's desk doing his best to look like an upstanding gentleman.

"Please take a seat Mr. Potter," said Lily returning to her own chair. "Now Mr. Black. Tell me, what do you look for in a woman."

Puppy dog eyes on full blast, Sirius laid it on. "I am just a man looking for a woman to love. Looks don't matter much to me. I just want to meet a woman I connect with on a personal level who will be with me for the rest of my life. Of coarse, if she is beautiful, much like yourself, that would be an added bonus. I want a girl who…"

"Let me guess," said Lily. "You want a girl who will make you laugh and that will still love you even though you cry at sad movies."

Smiling Sirius said, "You took the words right out of my mouth."

Pushing the intercom button, Lily stood up. "Get out." Jonathan opened the door.

"What?" said Sirius in surprise.

"Oh I know your type," said Lily resting her hands on her desk, arms locked, smirk placed on her face. "You're looking for a women desperate for love to fuck and then run from. And my job is to protect my ladies from creeps like you. Get out."

Sirius stood up dramatically. "Well I never. You just don't understand my desires in life."

"Oh I think I do." Lily walked around her desk and towards the door. "Try Bella's Donnas down in Camden. She'll give you what you need."

Tipping an invisible hat, Sirius dropped his act. "Thanks for the tip. To Camden!" and he quickly exited the room.

Laughing, James stood up and walked towards the door. Lily closed it with a snap before he got there. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Well, I was going to head back to the bar to meet my other, less insane friends." Lily shook her head, her hand still on the door. "I wasn't going to go to Camden with him, honest!" said James confused.

"I know you weren't, but you're staying right here for now."

"Why?"

"Take a seat Mr. Potter."

"Call me James."

Lily smiled. "And that's why you should take a seat."

Still confused, James moved back to his original chair.

"You, Mr. Potter, are the real deal," said Lily sitting on her desk facing James. She grabbed up his file reading through. "A junior auror with a trust fund from your family. Your family is known for being a very good line so you really have you pick. You're last relationship was a little while ago yet was very serious. You have hobbies that don't include alcohol or women." Putting down the file, she looked into his face, "And your friend Sirius wrote that in women, you look for passion," She turned the paper to face him, "and that's in quotes."

James looked around awkwardly. "Listen, I'm flattered but I don't think I want to do this. I was here because Sirius brought me here. I don't mean to insult you but I don't need a match maker."

"Don't you?" said Lily popping off her desk and walking around it to the back. Popping open a drawer, she pulled out a calculator. "There are about 12,000 witches in the UK. Since you're 25, we'll eliminate anyone under 20 and over 30 right?" She looked to James until he nodded. "So that brings us to about 2,000 women. Eliminate about 10% for women who like women. Eliminate about 50% of what's left for being taken. How many women would you say you've been on a date with since graduating Hogwarts? Let's guess low and say 15. Then cut the ugly ones, the weird ones, the ones who have slept with Mr. Black and you have 20."

"What?"

"Statistically, there are 20 witches in the United Kingdom who would be right for you."

James jaw dropped. "You're kidding."

Lily looked at her calculator. "Oh wait!" she typed in a few more points. "It's actually 17."

James sat silently for a few moments. "What's your rate?"

###

_**I hope you're all enjoying this so far/ are reading this! I am really enjoying writing this. It's the first time I've written a story with a fairly clear direction of where I want it to go. I'm developing the next chapter now so you shouldn't have too long to wait. **_

_**All My Love,**_

_**Melissa  
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	3. Not Being Selfish

The coffee shop was crowded by not too crowded that Tuesday afternoon. Laughter filled the space as people got down to idle chitchat about their lives.

Lily however, pondered the papers in front of her with a smile. "So I'm thinking a mixer."

"Wait, wait, wait," said Beth laughing. "Back it up. Tell me about this guy. He's 25? You're not joking with me?"

Lily reached into her purse pulling out his headshots, both his unconscious one and conscious one they had taken at the close of their meeting.

"You're kidding me," said Beth, pushing her bangs back for a better look. "He's young _and_ gorgeous?"

Lily smiled. "Yes, I know."

"What I don't understand is why she's not keeping him for herself," said Jonathan looking up from his own papers.

"That's not how my services work," Lily said shaking her head. "I am not on the menu nor am I in my own club. I worked hard to create a club of women more appealing than myself. It would be selfish to keep a great guy from even greater women who have been digging through all my loveable geezers for months."

"But look at his eyes!" said Beth holding the picture away from her face. "I never knew I liked hazel eyes until now."

"The hair needs some work though," said Lily grabbing the headshot from her friend and colleague.

"Ooooh no, I like it," said Beth sighing.

"Me too," chimed Jonathan, "It's very athletic looking, like his could have just come back from a quidditch practice or something."

"I may bring him out for a makeover anyway," said Lily, sliding the headshots back into her purse and pulling out his file. "We're meeting tomorrow for a meeting to discuss his preferences. Then I'll swing him by Liam's to freshen him up. Then Thursday, we'll do the call for women for a Saturday mixer."

"Mind if I don't work this project and go after the man myself," said Beth winking.

"I'm not sure Amos would be a fan of that idea," said Lily with a laugh.

"Oh right," said Beth with a dramatic sigh. "He ruins everything doesn't he?" She held out her left hand where her engagement ring sparkled. "Thank you by the way."

"You're lucky he was just an old friend, not a proper client or else he might not have been able to afford that kind of ring." Lily smirked at her. "He is a good one though even if he was a bit of a ladies man at Hogwarts."

"I know but I got him under control," said Beth.

"Oh, so he likes it like that?" said Jonathan cheekily. Beth hit him in the shoulder blushing. "That answers my question."

"Alright, back to business if I'm not allowed to go after this new guy," said Beth changing the subject. "What do we know about this James for now?"

Lily shifted her papers to find his file when a tall and beautiful woman walked by the table. Lily watched the girl walk by and then made eye contact with Jonathan. "I'm on it," he said standing from the table, heading towards the table the woman had settled at. She looked a bit surprised when Jonathan approached her but smiled and offered him the seat opposite her.

"He's so good at that," said Beth in awe.

"He's gay," said Lily shrugging. "Every fabulous witch when not on the hunt for Mr. Right is on the hunt for a gay best friend." Beth and Lily shared a laugh. "What she doesn't know, is I've already got dibs on Jonathan. She looks promising though. She dresses well and is clearly just on break from work. Plus, I've needed another Asian model type for a while."

"But back to the important stuff," said Beth, grabbing the application from in front of Lily. "Tell me about James." She raised her eyebrows suggestively at Lily from over the paper.

Shrugging Lily said, "You tell me, you have his paper."

"But you met him face to face. Tell me what you remember beyond these dull answers."

Lily furrowed her brow. "He's definitely taller than six foot, probably six one if I had to guess."

"Hot," said Beth leaning on her hands.

"Shut it," said Lily grabbing her coffee. "He's an up and coming junior auror. He's a Potter, good family line then with his Dad heading the department of magical cooperation. His last relationship was about 6 month ago. If I'm guessing right, she ended it. He's looking for marriage because he doesn't want to be a dad who is too old to teach his kids how to fly brooms. He's very funny and gentleman like, the type who opens doors. He's a good friend judging by the fact that he didn't punch his friend in the face for stupefying him in the quidditch supplies shop. Also, by that same point, he's probably a bit of a practical joker if that was just par for the course."

Lily paused to take a drink of her coffee, barely registering Jonathan's return to the table with a headshot and application in hand.

"He's very intoxicating to talk to," Lily continued. "Very easy to get a conversation going with. We talked about Professor Dumbledore for a solid 10 minutes. He also has a great smile. It's a little uneven but that's a good thing. Gives him character and a great sparkle in his eye like you just said something that gave him an idea."

"I'm going to stop you there Lil," said Beth. "What time are you meeting James tomorrow?"

"11AM."

"Good. Don't let him go home until 6 at the earliest."

"Why?"

"Because before you turn him over to the hounds, you should try him on for size," Beth said off handedly. "And I'm not saying hook up with him, lord knows you are too moral for that but I think its worth seeing if you like him too before you pair him with your asian model type or your Russian bombshell."

"Jenna, the asian model type, is free to come in Thursday by the way Lily," interjected Jonathan, sliding the application over.

She shoved it into her bag without looking, "You're insane Beth." After a moment, Lily connected eyes with Jonathan, "Tell her she's insane."

"Gladly," Jonathan said with a smile, "but she's not fully wrong here. You sound like you like this guy, against your own wishes even."

"What?" said Lily a little too loudly.

"Well, he was in your office for a long time," started Jonathan, "and when was the last time you actually fell into a steady conversation with our clients. Most of them are toungue tied messes…"

"And 80," interjected Beth.

"They're not _all_ 80…" mumbled Lily.

"That's not the point Lily," said Jonathan. He finished his drink before speaking again. "I'm just saying, you deserve to date too. You're so good at matching others, what about you? When was your last date?"

"That's none of your business," said Lily into her almost empty cup.

"But I can answer that," said Beth with a smile. Lily slumped down, desperately drinking from her cup. "Simon."

Jonathan's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Simon? That was a year ago Lily!"

"Yes and?" Lily said putting her empty cup down and cleaning up her papers.

"Well… you haven't even dated since…"

"No, I haven't. I haven't had anyone I like come by."

"By that she means she's been avoiding anyone promising like the plague for months," said Beth watching Lily carefully.

Lily stood up. "If you two don't mind putting the topic of my own love life on hold for now, we have a mixer to plan. Let's head back to the office and start making the arrangements."

With that Lily led the way out of the shop. Jonathan and Beth made knowing eye contact and followed her out having enough experience to know to let the topic drop… for now.

###

_**Hi All! I'm so glad to see so many people enjoying the story! Not going to lie, was a little late to work today because I wanted to get a good jump on this chapter.**_

_**Now I must say, I've only received one review (Thank you AshleyM15) but I know a number of you have me on your alerts or favorites (also BIG thanks). However, I'd love to know your thoughts on the story - whether you like it or not, if a character is pissing you off, any fun suggestions for the girls in the club.**_

_**Not sure how long this story will end up being but I'm having fun for now! I've started the next chapter (which will probably be a longer one and take longer to get down so expect a longer wait for an update) but my computer is freaking out and not letting me get to it anymore (lame). **_

_**So anyway, thanks so much for reading and I'll hopefully finish up the next chapter in the next week.**_

_**If I don't post before hand, HAPPY NEW YEAR!**_

_**Much Love,**_

_**Melissa**_


	4. Our Booth

Finnigan's wasn't the best bar in town but it was definitely the best located for the marauders. Since James, Remus and Julia lived right upstairs, the whole group had become regulars at the nice little bar on the street level. So when Sirius walked in to see James, Peter and Remus standing by the bar, he was very confused.

"Are we relocating for the day?" he said approaching his friends.

"Not by choice," said Peter, glaring over at their regular booth.

Looking over, Sirius' mouth fell open. "You let a bunch of girls kick us out of _our_ booth?"

Remus and Peter made eye contact before turning back to say in unison, "Yes."

"They said our name wasn't on it," mumbled James with a smile.

Just then the door swung open to reveal Julia. She, while also seeing the relocation, walked over to the girls in the booth. After a few moments, the ladies at the table departed with a smile, waving at Sirius as they moved to a tall table towards the back of the room. Julia slid into her seat and waved the boys over.

"Light of my life! How did you do that?" said Remus in genuine surprise.

"It's what I always do," said Julia grabbing Remus' drink and taking a sip. "I usually beat you guys here and that's not the first time there's been the uneducated ensemble taking our spot. So, one day I came up with the story that Sirius is mentally ill and wasn't safe to stand at the bar without bothering others."

"Hey!" Said Sirius. "I'm not mentally ill." Sirius then returned to carving his name onto the table with a knife.

"Sure you aren't," said Julia patting him on the shoulder. "But you are a danger to society if you can't have your booth."

"Okay, you're not far off there," admitted Sirius, waving over the waiter. After ordering drinks, Sirius turned to James. "So how hot was that ginger?"

"You mean Ms. Evans right?"

"Ms. Evans? You guys went?" said Julia incredulously.

"Not willingly," said James with a glare at Sirius. "Nor while conscious."

"Out of my own curiosity, I must ask that you tell us about the ginger James," said Peter leaning in. "Not saying that your unconsciousness is not interesting but it was expected in some ways."

"The ginger is Ms. Evans and she's the matchmaker. There's not much else to say really," said James.

"Are you kidding?" said Sirius amazed. "While I ran to Camden for easy women, you stayed at that gorgeous woman's office. You're telling me you didn't notice the outstandingly attractive woman you talked to for, what was it, an hour?"

"Wait," said Remus. "Did you ask out the matchmaker?"

"No!" said James.

"Then why were you in there for an hour?"

"Well," said James. "Don't laugh." He peered around at his friends. Sirius zipped his lips while Julia nodded encouragingly as she was always the one who loved the gossip. "I signed up with her."

"You're going to get matched?" said Peter surprised. "That doesn't sound like your typical thing."

"I know, I know," said James, running his hands through his hair. "But she had a calculator and she said there were only 17 women and she also had this tight dress on. It was all very convincing."

"Yes James, focus on the tight dress," said Sirius nodding vigorously. The waiter dropped off the drinks for Sirius and Julia and went to serve another table. "So what took an hour? Was the dress that hard to take off? Or was it the stockings?"

James hit Sirius on the head as Peter said, "Ooooh stockings?"

"We just talked for a while! Some of it was business and some of it wasn't. She went to Hogwarts so we talked a lot about Dumbledore."

"Wait, she was at Hogwarts?" said Remus confused. "The only redheads I can remember are Olivia Hornstone in Hufflepuff, Arthur Weasley who was a few years ahead of us and his now wife Molly Prewett."

"Yeah, I was confused too. But she transferred in from Beauxbatons in her sixth year. Gryffindor as well. She's two years younger than us so we just missed her," said James with a smile. "She was head girl too."

"So why is she matchmaking rather than being, I don't know, an unspeakable or a healer or something most of the heads end up doing?" said Peter raising an eyebrow.

"Matchmaking can't be easy Peter," said Julia with a smile. "I mean, just from the time I tried to set you up with Vivian…"

"Let's not talk about that," said Peter hurriedly. "So James, Sirius, she had stockings?"

"Oh yeah," said Sirius nodding. "She was fine. Don't you think James?"

James pretended to ponder the question, even though he knew he heartily agreed. "Yeah, I guess she was alright. Not sure if she's my type though."

"What, you don't go for beautiful girls?" said Sirius, tossing a table pretzel at him.

Catching it with ease and popping the pretzel into his mouth, James thought back to his hour with Ms. Evans. It was really nice actually. He was expecting to be grilled on his past relationship and psychoanalyzed to all end but they had just really talked about Hogwarts and quidditch and music.

"Of coarse I go for beautiful girls. Just not the ones like Ms. Evans. Typically I'm allowed to use the first name of the beautiful girls I am considering pursuing."

"Oh I like _Ms. Evans_. It's very naughty librarian, calling your lover a name like that." Sirius smiled back at old, dirty memories.

"Her name is Lily," said Julia, ignoring Sirius. "I met her at Amos's engagement party."

"She's engaged to Amos?" said James looking frightened. If that was the case and Amos even knew a little legitimacy, James was in deep trouble for the dream he had last night. He got a little too up close and personal with those stockings for any protective fiancé to be all right with.

"No, Amos is engaged to Beth Holloway, this bombshell from Beauxbatons," said Julia, trying to read James' face. "Friend of Lily's. Apparently, she matched them pro bono."

"Lucky them. She's not cheap," said James, thinking about his Gringotts account. He had plenty but he normally wasn't one to throw it around.

"Well, if you wanted cheap, you should have come to Bella's Donnas with me." Sirius smiled as James made a face. "I got to meet them all at the bar that night. I picked two and well…"

"We don't want to know Sirius," said Remus interrupting.

"We don't?" said Peter.

"Yeah, don't we?" said Julia laughing flirtatiously at her boyfriend.

Remus gave her a look. "You're a dirty girl."

"You like it," said Julia, a smoldering look in her eyes. He hand was drifting around his leg.

"And I think that's our cue to leave," said Remus grabbing Julia's hand and dragging her towards the door. "James, don't come back for a while." He called as he ran them out the door.

James sighed and gestured to the waiter for another round. "I will at some point get them back for doing that all the time."

"Well, first you need the girl to do it with," said Peter downing his drink.

"I'm working on it."

"Yeah," said Sirius, "you'll have to let us know how Ms. Lily Evans is in the sack. I'm guessing fiery."

Rolling his eyes, the boys changed the subject and exchanged Mad Eye Moody stories for the rest of the night. The winning story involved a zebra, a time turner and five death eaters.

###

_**Hi all! I wasn't expecting to write this chapter at all and especially so soon. But I read your comments and was so excited to see that everyone was enjoying it! The chapter I had been developing is underway but I've decided to throw in this one in to give you some of James perspective.**_

_**Taking your notes into account, I wanted to explain the world of Hogwarts and why the marauders don't know Lily. Usually, I'm a fan of keeping truthful to the book for them both being the same year in Gryffindor and knowing each other but in the world of this story that just doesn't work. So as it stands, here would be a look at the school situation.**_

_**James/Sirius/Peter/Remus: 7th Year Hogwarts = Lily: 5th Year Beauxbatons**_

_**Also good to know, Lily's 6th Year Hogwarts = Amos' 7th Year Hogwarts.**_

_**Julia went to school in America and came to the UK for a job with the International Magical Cooperation. She and Remus started dating right out of school after meeting in the lobby of the ministry on Julia's first day in London. **_

_**I hope you're still enjoying it and if I don't see ya, Happy New Year!**_

_**Best Wishes!**_

_**Melissa**_


	5. What's your type?

This was not the kind of place James typically went to when given the choice. This is the place his grandmother would drag him to for brunch when she wanted to 'stay young by seeing my darling grandson.' Le Petit Dejuner was a very classy restaurant in the heart of the wizard district in London. Typical clientele included high level ministry officials, top healers and the occasional affluent muggle who heard the food was 'just magical'.

James was situated in a corner booth feeling more and more like he had made a huge mistake. _'But it was impossible to say no to those eyes.'_

He spied Ms. Evans (and her eyes) enter the room in an all black robe set lined with green at the collar. Her long red hair was pulled back into a clip, the curls barely contained. She smiled at the hostess and after a short exchange, headed for his table.

"You're early," she said with a smile, sliding into the booth.

"Yeah, I guess I am."

"I hope you weren't waiting long. I usually beat my men to the restaurant so I'm not accustomed to the second arrival. Have you ordered?"

James eyed Lily questioningly. "Are you alright?" he asked. "You seem a little… stressed or something."

Lily raised her eyes in surprise before readjusting her features to a neutral smile. "No, I'm fine but thanks for asking. Very gentlemanly." The truth was she was stressed for various reasons. The mixer was behind schedule, her group of women was not where she'd like them to be and she was still trying to convince herself that she was not attracted to Mr. Potter. Beyond that, Lily had made the mistake of reading the paper in the morning rather than the evening. The number of muggleborn murders was up 4% this week. Not a comforting figure to take with your morning coffee. Taking a deep breath, she put aside her anxiety and looked up at James.

He looked much more put together today than he had the day in her office. Dressed simply in a clean set of dark jeans and a blue polo shirt, he again looked very much like an athlete on holiday. However, she did notice he looked quite uncomfortable in the booth.

"Have you ordered yet?" she asked again scanning the room.

"No, not yet. I wanted to wait for you."

"Perfect," she stood up and walked towards the door. She turned around to see him still at the booth. "Are you coming?"

Slowly he stood up confused and approached the hostess at her side.

"I'm so terribly sorry Maria but we have to run," Lily lied convincingly. "Mr. Potter here just got an emergency call from work. You can give the table to someone on your waiting list."

"Oh," said Maria in surprise. "Hello Mr. Potter. Very sorry you won't be joining us for lunch today. Lily, would you like to make an alternate reservation for another day?"

"Let's save a spot for the same time next week? You're wonderful Maria. Have a great day, and say hello to Harriett for me."

"And she'll say hello to Marcus for you," said Maria with a wink. Lily watched Maria's eyes gaze up and down James. With a smile, Lily guided James out the door and around the corner.

"What's going on?" he asked confused.

"That place isn't your thing is it?" said Lily smiling at him as she led him down the road.

"No," he said shaking his head, trying to grasp what had just happened. "No it isn't. But I've never heard of anyone walking out of Le Petite Dejuner before. People wait months on the waiting list for reservations."

"So we just made someone's day," said Lily, taking a left turn at the intersection. "I matched one of the hostesses so getting a reservation is a bit simpler for me."

James gazed at her in awe. "You're an interesting woman Lily."

"Ms. Evans, please."

James smiled, remembering Sirius's librarian comment. He imagined Lily with a pair of glasses on and his smile grew.

Gazing down the street, Lily quickened her pace as she spotted their new destination. Walking through the door, she took a deep breathe in, enjoying the smell of fresh salsa.

"This is _my_ kind of place," said Lily smiling. James looked around at the stucko walls with large murals of Mexican landscapes across them.

"Not what I'd expect from you to be honest," he said quietly, leaning into Lily's ear.

Lily blushed slightly at his breath tickling her ear. "Is this place okay with you? Thought you might like it better here. The food is great, the margaritas are amazing and it's a little less…"

"You mean no one is going to yell when we used the dinner fork for the salad?"

"Exactly."

James smiled and walked up to the host. "Table for two please." He turned back to Lily as the host grabbed the menus. "This is my kind of place too."

Once they were seated and the margaritas were ordered, Lily turned to James to get down to business. "So Mr. Potter…"

"How did you find this place?" He asked looking up from his menu.

Lily leaned back in her chair, somewhat surprised. "My friends and I came here for a bachelorette dinner one time a few years back. Ever since, a few girl friends and me come here about once or twice a month for a girl's night out. They have a special on Mondays with all you can eat burritos for two sickles and giant margaritas for 1 sickle each."

"What night is that?" said James excitedly. "I'll have to bring my crew around as well. We'll put this place out of business with that all-you-can-eat burrito deal."

Lily laughed. "I will be very upset if you close this place down."

"I'll do my best." James put his hand humbly over his chest causing Lily to smile again.

"But down to business, Mr. Potter…" said Lily pulling out a notebook.

"Please, call me James."

"But you're my client," Lily countered stubbornly.

"Yes," nodded James. "_I'm_ your client. My father is not. So I'd prefer you call me James."

"Fine then, James," said Lily. The name floated well on her tough. "What do…."

"Does this mean I can call you Lily?" James asked cheekily.

Lily put down her quill in mock frustration. "You can call me Cleopatra if you tell me what you look for in a bloody woman!"

"Ok _Cleopatra_," James nudged her with his foot. "I guess…." James stopped to really consider the idea. Lily waited patiently for his response. The waiter came with their margaritas and took their orders. James was still thinking. It was going to be hard not to talk about green eyes and beautiful red hair when it was sitting in front of him. He was finally beginning to accept the fact that he was beginning to lust after his matchmaker as he watched her lie in Le Petit Dejuner. She just moved in the most intoxicating way.

"I guess I look for a girl who is beautiful but doesn't take herself too seriously."

"Ok, going to need more than that after five minutes of deliberation," said Lily pulling her margarita towards her. "Do you like them tall, short, curvy, tiny, brown hair, blonde hair, and the list goes on."

"I guess I like a taller woman," James pondered, watching Lily lick at some of the salt on her glass. "But not taller than me."

"Of coarse," Lily said, licking the salt now from her lips. "You want to feel like the man."

James swallowed hard. "Yes." James tried to focus on the questions rather than Lily's mouth and its efforts around the salt and straw. "And I think I like a girl with a body. I don't want to leave her at home on all-you-can-eat burrito night do I?"

Lily scribbled onto her notepad. Without looking up she asked, "Are you a tits or an ass man?"

"Excuse me?"

Lily laughed. "You've got to be comfortable with me James. I've got to know the superficial stuff as well as the personality stuff to find you the perfect match." Lily was getting into her grove. Talking about her stress and her favorite restaurants was not her typical thing when she was wearing her work clothes. She was much better at asking the personal questions than answering them.

"Um…" James said awkwardly, moving his mouth around to dislodge a piece of tortilla chip. "Can I answer that one later and cover some of the personality stuff first? That way I can feel less of a chauvinistic pig when I start piecing together the plastic vision of the perfect woman in my head."

Looking up through her eyebrows, Lily said, "Sure, but the questions are even worse in that area." Taking a sip of her drink, James following her lead, she prepared for his reaction. "Do you want kids?"

James, slightly surprised, answered quickly with his gut reaction. "Of coarse." After a pause he said, "But not today, maybe tomorrow."

"How many?"

James eyebrows furrowed. "I don't know. I haven't really thought about it. I guess that would be a decision I'd make with my wife. At this point I just want to start with one which is healthy and happy so I can get used to being a dad I guess."

"That's really sweet Mr. Potter."

"James."

"Right, James." Lily took a few more notes. "And what would your ideal girl want for her ideal date?"

James smiled mischievously, "To go around making trouble."

Lily wrote than down, trying to control her facial reaction. '_That's a new one'_ she thought to herself. "What kind of trouble. Because, as I mentioned before, in my club we have that run about…"

"No, no, no, I'm not talking about sex," James answered quickly. "Though sex, I believe, is a healthy part of a loving relationship." He winked at her but Lily stayed firm. "But I know your rules, no sex before monogamy. I'm with you." Lily nodded her approval. "I mean trouble as in pranks or adventures or risk taking like… I don't know, bungee jumping."

Lily's head snapped up from her notepad, her bright green eyes burrowing into his hazel. '_That sounds like so much fun_,' she thought to herself. Her mouth however said, "Don't you dare bring one of my girls bungee jumping on the first date."

"Of coarse not," said James with a smile. "That's definitely a second date sort of thing."

Lily glared at him with a smile on her lips. Both started to laugh and reached for the bowl of chips. "I'm just imagining a girls face if you surprised her with a bungee jumping date."

"Well it'd be a good test of how much they liked me," James said chuckling "It's like asking, 'hey, do you think I'm hot enough to jump off a bridge for?' If the answer is no, then I guess I need to hit the gym more and find a different date."

They continued to laugh the rest of the way through lunch, speeding through Lily's questions to focus more on ridiculous date ideas (some of which were true stories coming from Lily's former clients, hot tubs on a first date… really…).

James and Lily fell laughing out of Toquito's two hours later.

"Perfect!" cried Lily, nearly crying in laughter. "Running with the bulls just screams romance."

"Okay, so I'll make sure to arrange to bring you… I mean, my date for the next run." James dropped his eyes. "Word flub. Sorry."

Lily laughed awkwardly. "It's ok. I'll come along too but not going to lie, I'll push you down if it means my own survival."

"I'd expect nothing less from you." James laughed, happy Lily saved him from his own Freudian slip. "So what now?"

"We're going to swing by my friend Liam's. He's a image specialist and he's going to help set you up with some clothes and maybe a hair styling for the mixer."

"You don't like the way I look?" James looked down at himself. He had tried rather hard this morning to make himself looked put together.

"No, you're gorgeous!" Lily responded quickly, putting her hand on his arm. "But we just need to step it up. Plus, I thought it might be fun for you." James looked at her skeptically. "Okay, I'd like, just for laughs, to see someone attempt to control your hair."

"Good luck to this Liam guy. I've been trying for the last 25 years."

Lily led James down a dark narrow alley so that they had to walk single file, after taking a tight corner, Lily stopped short. "Okay, we need to get across town so I figured I'd take you side along."

"Oh," James said surprised. "Okay." He silently took her left hand in his right as she pulled out her wand. While she focused on their destination, he was completely distracted by the warmth of their interlocked hands. He had laced their fingers together when grabbing for a better hold but only as the grip of the apparition took over him did he realize how intimate it felt.

As they landed, Lily looked around. "I think I put us two blocks south." To be honest her _deliberation_ hadn't been at its best since her focus in some ways was on her non-wand hand interlaced with James. It was somewhat electric.

The pair stood still for a few moments until Lily turned to James. "You can let go now."

"Oh, sorry," said James, pulling his hand out of hers.

Lily smiled brightly at him. "It's this way." And with that, she led them out of the alley and into the more populated street.

James shook his head into focus. '_When did I get to be terrible with women?_' James had always been a ladies man at school and was no stranger to being approached by beautiful women. He couldn't understand why this redhead distracted him.

Before he realized it, Lily stopped in front of an old building with tall, modern windows. James ran forward and opened the door for her. '_It's my turn to throw her off_,' he thought to himself.

Lily smiled. "Very nice Mr. Potter."

"James," he said playfully following her inside.

"Lily-Pad!" cried a tall, dark and handsome man from behind the counter.

"Liam!" Lily ran forward and embraced him.

"Lily-Pad," James muttered under his breath. "I'll be using that." James looked at this _Liam_ and suddenly felt slightly incompetent. He had definitely seen this guy on an advertising billboard for cologne or something like that before. Watching him embrace Lily, he couldn't help but cross his fingers that Liam batted for the other team.

"So Liam," said Lily, leading the man over towards James, "this is our project. Meet James Potter."

"Nice to meet you James," said Liam, reaching his hand out to James to shake while keeping his other over Lily's shoulder.

"Same to you," said James squeezing Liam's hand in the shake. Liam squeezed back just as hard. When they broke apart, both fought the urge to rub his hand.

"So what are we thinking Lils," said Liam, looking at the lady beneath his arm.

"Let's start with the greatest challenge. I don't want to cut it but can we somehow tame his hair?"

"Don't underestimate how large of a challenge that may be," said James, keeping his eyes on Lily.

"I'll see what I can do," Liam said, pulling his hand from around Lily's shoulder. While he did so, he grabbed the clip out of Lily's hair.

"Hey!" she cried grabbing it from him. Her hair tumbled down around her shoulders. James watched as it fell into disarray around her face.

"What did I say about putting your hair up," Liam said, shaking a finger in her face.

"Hair up for parents and interviews, hair down for play. But Liam, I am on business!"

"James," Liam turned to him. "Which do you prefer?"

"What?"

"Lily's hair. Up or down."

James looked somewhat alarmed and faced Lily, taking in her new look. She looked like she had just gotten out of bed… and he imagined that bed had also contained himself.

"It does look beautiful down Ms. Evans."

Lily blushed. "Lily." James smiled at her making her feel like hiding behind her hair. "But onto more important hair issues, James, go with Liam. Liam, I'll be in the wardrobe picking out something nice."

"He's in good hands," said Liam, watching Lily walk away. "Come this way James."

James followed Liam into the salon section of the store and was immediately faced with a small version of the ad he had remembered.

"I thought you looked familiar."

"Oh," said Liam following his line of sight. "That was years ago but its good for attracting clientele."

"And women?" said James curiously.

Liam laughed. "And women. Please, take a seat James."

James sat and was surprised to see Liam take the seat opposite him.

"Aren't you going to start world war three with my hair?"

"You like Lily," Liam stated, looking into James' eyes. It wasn't a question.

James sat back in his seat. "What?"

"It's ok to admit it. Most of her clients do."

"Are you her boyfriend or something?" said James.

Liam laughed very hard. "I wish. She would never date me."

"Why?"

"That's not important right now. Just yes or no, do you like her?"

James knew he was standing on thin ice so he thought it was better to be honest. "I think she's great but I realize that you don't sign up for the matchmaking service to get with the matchmaker. She's obviously beautiful and smart and I really enjoy talking to her. So I guess the answer is… yes in some ways." James made eye contact with Liam, trying to act like he hadn't just made an admission he had only recent made to himself. "Is that the answer you were looking for?"

Liam launched himself onto his feet. "Yep." Walking around to the back of James' chair he said, "Now let's figure this hair out."

"While you do so," James said, "just out of curiosity, why isn't Lily dating you? You sound like you're into her too."

"Who wouldn't be?" Liam said, pulling a comb through James' hair. "We've been friends for a long time but she's been through a lot with guys treating her bad. Trust is an issue with her. So you try to earn her trust and then you land in the friend zone. That is my world. It's a slippery slope. You're either too scary to date or too trustworthy to get to the next level. So in some ways you just hope she has too many champagnes one night just so you can hold her tight."

James sat in shock in the honesty Liam shared. "Why are you telling me this?"

"You asked."

"Yes, but why reveal all of this."

"Well," said Liam, putting down his combs, "us young men who have to bask in the glow of Lily without being allowed to reach for the light need to stick together to stay sane." Liam turned James' chair towards the mirror. "And that is the best I can do with you hair."

James looked in the mirror and smiled. "This is how my mom used to do it."

Liam cringed. "In that case…." He mussed his hands through James' hair making it look more stylishly messy than it had looked before. "Now you look like you only under control."

James laughed. "Me under control? That's funny. Don't say that around my friends. They'll never stop laughing."

Liam led James to the wardrobe area. "I'll leave you to bask in the light. It was nice to meet you James."

"You too Liam," said James warmly. Lily rounded the corner to see the boys' farewell. "And hey Liam, if you want to tell my friends how _in control_ I am, come by Finnigan's tonight. Have a drink."

"I think I will. Best of luck with your mixer," Liam eyes flicked up locking on with Lily. "See you Lily-Pad."

"Bye Liam!" Lily approach James and took his arm. "Wait until you see what I picked out for you James. Come on!"

###

_**Well here it is! And a bit longer than usual! Gave you a little more relationship development and background on Lily's love life. I'm sure there will be more of that to come. **_

_**So everyone! Remember to review and give me your feedback! I am listening and trying to answer your questions!**_

_**As I referenced before, this is loosely inspired/taken from How I Met Your Mother and Millionaire Matchmaker. There is no denying this anywhere so if you don't like it, don't read it! If you do like it, I like you. You can stay **_

_**Hello 2012 you! In your review, let me know what your resolution is. I'm trying to order less food from delivery and get to work earlier in the morning.**_

_**Best Wishes,**_

_**Melissa**_


	6. Forget the Chicken

Beth was flicking through the TV bored when she heard Lily's keys scrapping at the door of their flat. After a moment, the door swung open to reveal a somewhat exhausted looking Lily.

"Have fun?"

Lily slammed her purse on the table. "I don't think I've ever had to work so hard to put a man in a tie and then, once on, keep him in said tie."

"Oh Lil. You know it gets difficult when all you want to do is rip off all his clothes."

"Don't even get me started there," mumbled Lily removing her coat.

Beth sat up quickly, muting the television. "What?"

"You're watching TV? Is Doctor Who on?"

"No, I checked," grumbled Beth. "And stop deflecting! Are you finally admitting to the attractiveness of your new, young, tall, athletic, hazel eyed, strong..."

"Will you shut up if I say yes?" cried Lily exasperated.

Beth mimed the locking of her lips. Lily held out her hand for the imaginary key, which Beth then clutched to her chest, shaking her head playfully.

"He just... looks through me," Lily said quietly, sliding on the couch and curling into her best friend's shoulder.

"An occlumens?"

Lily shook her head. "I didn't think of that but I don't think so. He just knew how to throw me off. Like, he'd ask personal questions when I was about to get on a role."

"What sort of questions? Personal is a very different concept for you."

"He told me I looked stressed and asked if I was ok."

Beth smiled and shook her head. "Were you stressed?"

"Of coarse!"

"Okay then. How dare he!" said Beth sarcastically. "What else?"

"I don't know," Lily thought to herself. "Talking with him was just easy mostly. But not like talking with Liam or Jonathan. The whole lunch felt like a date with funny stories exchanged and Freudian slips on his part about bringing me on a date to run with the bulls."

"Sounds romantic!" said Beth, leaning her head against Lily's.

"It sounds ridiculous and it is!"

"Sounds like you had a nice day."

Lily smiled. "It was. But like I said, sometimes it just felt too personal. I brought him Toquito's and..."

"I LOVE Toquito's!" Beth was silenced with a look from Lily.

"So, as I was saying, we were at Toquito's and he asked me how I found out about the place and... I told him."

Beth gazed at Lily expectantly. "And?"

"I don't know. It felt so personal to tell a near stranger that."

"Lily," said Beth rolling her eyes. "Did you tell the waiter what you wanted to eat today at Toquito's?"

"Sure."

"Then why is what James asked personal?" said Beth grabbing up the remote again dismissively. She began to flick through the channels once again on the hunt for one of her favorites but kept the volume on mute. "I'll never understand you Lils. Ever since Simon, you find new people asking simple get to know you questions personal. At the same time, you have no qualms about asking about your client's preference on lady thigh size."

"But that's part of my job," said Lily with a sigh.

"And it makes everyone feel super weird. I think you enjoy toying on the edge of socially acceptable conversation but even the smallest question about your state of being is like getting faced with a formal investigation from the Wizengamot to you."

Lily snatched the remote out of Beth's hand and continued the flipping in silence. She didn't like to argue with someone once she knew they were right.

"Besides, I thought I told you to keep that hunk of man out all night. It's only 5!"

"He had plans," said Lily, unmuting the TV on an episode of Coupling. She, however, turned the blasting volume down low. "I overheard him inviting Liam."

Beth glanced at Lily carefully. Her face was placed in a look of controlled boredom but there was a hint of jealousy and disappointment. "I bet he would have blown it off for a while."

"He's very loyal to his friends. Number four in his five must haves is that the girl can get along with his mates. I'm not sure he would have blown them off for Princess Diana."

"But you're not Princess Diana. You're much better."

Lily swatted Beth with the remote and stood up. "I'm fixing chicken. Want some?"

"Sure," shrugged Beth. Beth's attention turned to the screen watching the scene unfold where two of the characters who liked each other accidentally bumped into each other at the bar. Smiling, Beth tried to speak in her most innocent, casual voice. "Did he say where he was going with his mates?"

"Just a bar it sounded like," Lily called from the kitchen. The pop of the gas stove was audible around the apartment.

"Nice bar? Have I heard of it?"

"I don't know every bar you've been to love," laughed Lily. "It was something Irish. Flannigan's or something like that."

"Finnigan's?" Asked Beth, dashing quietly to her bedroom.

"That might have been it, yeah." Lily tapped her wand against the pan and the chicken was cooked to perfection. Plating up two servings and adding a savory mushroom sauce, Lily called back, "You seem awfully interested."

Lily walked back into the living room with the two plates and stopped to see Beth holding up two tight dresses. "When was the last time we went out my love?"

Lily shook her head and rolled her eyes. "For your birthday? I don't know."

Lily sat down to her chicken. Suddenly the plate flew away from her landing on a table on the other side of the room.

"Let me put this another way Lily," said Beth pocketing her wand. "Do you want to wear the black dress tonight or the silver? I'll call Amos, Liam and Jonathan." Her face lite up like a light. "We're going bar hopping."

#########

_**Back to the shorter chapters, I hope you don't mind. They are easier for me to get down on a work day. What do you prefer though? The longer or shorter chapters?**_

_**Thanks everyone for all of your support! I'm so glad to see you all enjoying the story. Again, please let me know your thoughts and ideas through reviews. As I've mentioned, I am really enjoying this story and I find myself checking my personal email at work constantly to see if anyone has reviewed or added me to alerts! When you review, I feel more and more inspired to write (I wrote this chapter on the subway on the way home from work).**_

_**So I have an idea what the next two chapters will be looking like so those should come out at about the same rate as the last few chapters… I have never written so much like this for fan fiction so get excited.  
><strong>_

_**Best Wishes,**_

_**Melissa**_


	7. Hands Off Gregory

_**SO SORRY for the delay! I wrote this chapter and then read it again and really didn't like it so then I had to step back for a bit and then rewrite. We should get back to regular updates shortly but thanks for all the love and support for this story!**_

* * *

><p><em><em>"She got you to suit up!" cried Sirius in excitement, looking over the snapshot with pride.

Rolling his eyes, James snatched the 'after' picture back from Sirius. In the picture, he was smiling brightly but fidgeting as he fought the urge to take off his tie. They had decided on a tie-less look for the mixer but Lily had still been very keen on seeing him try on a full suit. 'I love a man in a suit' she had said. Obviously, James had then put on the suit. Reflecting, if she would like him in a Santa costume, he would have put that on as well.

Putting the picture away, he turned to his friends. "So what have you all been up to today?"

Remus shrugged. "Working."

"How is the bookshop running these days?" asked Peter through the handful of bar pretzels in his mouth.

"It's doing okay. Now that the Hogwarts kids are back at school, the rush has died down. And again, word hasn't leaked about my... condition... so my regulars haven't abandoned me yet."

"You have the best shop in town my love," said Julia brightly. "I don't even know if that could scare them off from your collection and prices."

Remus beamed at her. "I love you so much."

"I love you too my sun and moon."

"And you are my star."

"And now I am nauseous," said Sirius, putting down his glass. "But has no one realized the significance of the day? James suited up! Fire whiskey shots on Mr. Potter!"

Sirius bounded up to the bar to order them on James' tab. Shrugging at his friends, James said, "What the hell. Why not?"

After the shot and another beer, the table was in a heated debate over the best way to prank the Slytherin common room when James spotted a familiar figure at the door.

"LIAM!" James called over at him. Liam looked over and waved, heading for the table. He ruffled the back of his hair nervously. James stood up and met him halfway, grabbing his hand to shake. "So glad you could make it. Let me introduce you to my mates."

Liam cast a glance back toward the door. "Yeah, I've got a bit of a crew tonight too. Bar hopping. They're closing the tab over at Vortex."

James slapped a hand jovially on Liam's back. "The more the merrier."

"I should probably warn you though..."

"Mates," said James as they walked up to the table, cutting off Liam in his attempted admission. "This is my new friend, Liam."

Julia's eyes widened at the model of a man in front of her. "Hi," she said breathlessly, gazing at him. Remus nudged her but she continued gawking, eyes wide as saucers.

"Nice to meet you Liam," said Sirius and Peter with a smile. Remus secured his arm around Julia as he nodded at the newcomer, wolfishly indicating his claim over his girlfriend.

"Thanks. You guys too," Liam smiled brightly at the group, ignoring Remus' glare. "I'll pull up another table. I have a few other friends meeting me here."

"I like you suit," said Sirius with an approving nod.

Liam laughed. "Make sure to say that to Lily. She insisted." Liam shot a significant look at James, trying to indict what was to come.

"She would," said James, joining Liam in laughter. "Oh! And tell them what you said about me today! Go on!"

Liam shook his head. "Something about James being responsible or something like that."

The table erupted in hysterics. As James watched his friends lose it, he glanced up at the door. "Is that Amos Diggory? I haven't seen him in ages."

Liam looked down at his lap. Amos spotted the table from across the way, smiled, and walked toward over. As he moved, he revealed a beautiful and tall black woman and...

"Lily?" whispered James, looking at Liam accusingly.

"I tried to warn you James, I swear," hissed Liam looking to James and then toward the advancing group. "And it wasn't my idea! Amos' fiancé Beth really wanted to stop by for the drink specials here."

"Sirius! James! Remus! Peter!" cried Amos happily, arriving at the head of the table. "It's been ages! How are the best damn trouble makers Hogwarts has ever seen?"

"And will ever see," boomed Sirius proudly, getting up to give a manly embrace to his former quidditch teammate. "How are you buddy?"

"I'm great," Amos looked behind his shoulder has Beth approached. " I don't believe I introduced you to my fiancé. This is Beth Mibelle, soon to be Diggory."

"Pleasure to meet you," Sirius said, bowing to kiss her hand. "Sirius Black at your service my dear."

Beth quirked an eyebrow. "Did you catch the fiancé bit?"

"More than likely," said Julia chuckling. "I'm Julia and this is my boyfriend, Remus."

"Peter," came a cry from the far side of the booth with a wave.

And James stood, his eyes still on Lily who was standing at the coat check. He watched as she slid the warm black pea coat off her shoulders revealing a stunning black dress. The back fell low so a long patch of soft pale skin could be seen, her muscles moving gracefully beneath that skin as she shifted her purse further up her shoulder. Her hair was long and straight tonight, the messy curls of this morning gone. James couldn't say which he liked more at the moment. As she turned around to scan the bar nervously, he gazed transfixed at her face, her brilliant green eyes highlighted lined carefully with black, her lashes reaching out to infinity, her slight freckles peaking out from beneath her concealed.

It took a quick swat from Liam for James to come back to himself. Turning to the stunning, tall woman next to him, he said, "I'm James."

"Yes you are," said Beth reaching for James' hand at his side and beginning to start a handshake. "I've seen your head shots. I work with Lily. I'm Beth. I've been working on your mixer."

"Oh!" said James surprised. "Then you probably know my file and think I'm an image obsessed jerk with commitment problems."

Jonathan strolled up from the bar carrying drinks and laughed at James. "All men come off at commitment phobic narcissists on Lily's files."

"What are you saying about my private files Jonathan?" Lily stopped just short of the table holding her friends and her client's friends. "Oh, hello again Mr. Black, James."

"She calls you James now?" Sirius said eyes wide. He turned pleading eyes at James. "Please say you still call her Ms. Evans."

Sirius pouted as James ignored him. "Hi Lily-Pad!"

Lily turned scornful eyes at Liam. "I hate you." Liam smirked back, grabbing his drink from Jonathan.

"Do you come here often Ms. Evans?" asked Peter politely.

"No, but apparently Beth is a big fan." Lily shot her friend a frustrated glace. "This is the grand finale stop of our bar tour. And please, it's Lily." Peter blushed. "And you must be Peter." She shifted her eyes to the other side of the booth. "And you much be Remus and Julia. I've heard so much about all of you."

"All bad, I'm sure," grinned Remus.

"Definitely," said James proudly.

"Which one of you charmed the knights of armor on the third floor to tap dance whenever Slughorn walked by?" asked Lily beaming.

"That would be me!" said Remus sheepishly.

Lily shifted to sit on the other side of Julia. "You must teach me that charm. I pride myself at being a bit of an expert on charms and that is one I am missing from my repertoire." Remus smiled modestly. "And you," said Lily, shifting her eyes to Julia, " look very familiar."

"You matched my cousin Mary Anne with..."

"Leonardo, yes of coarse! You were leading one of the conga lines at the wedding!"

Julia laughed loudly. "And you were teaching everyone to salsa."

Lily shrugged. "I love a good bit of salsa!"

"Especially the kind that comes with chips?" interjected James jokingly.

"Definitely."

The group fell into a good rhythm, Lily, Beth and Julia falling into a conversation quickly about wedding reception stories. Remus listened with half an ear, thinking of the ring hidden in his sock drawer upstairs. The rest of the boys told stories of old school quidditch dramas to which James listened with half an ear, trying desperately not to stare at Lily.

It was hard not to. Seeing her up close was much better than looking from distance. The cut of her dress from the front was modest but the material hugged her body so suggestively that he had already imagined what lay underneath it… twice. Lily's straight hair tumbled down her shoulders like silk, shining in the light and swaying when she laughed. 'And I thought she was sexy in tweed this afternoon,' he thought to himself, forcing his eyes away again and refocusing his attention back to Jonathan's tale of daring goal scoring at Milan's Academy for Wizards.

Lily was also having a similar issue focusing on her conversation. She let Beth and Julia do most of the chatting as Lily tried to covertly watch James.

'He's always touching his hair,' she thought, watching him ruffle the back of it for the third time since she arrived at the table. He seemed so happy and relaxed sitting in his Spanish Quidditch Team jersey, sipping on his beer. Maybe it was the number of drinks she had already had tonight but she suddenly felt the urge to touch the fabric of his jersey. It looked so smooth.

James turned and caught her eye. Lily blushed slightly but didn't look away. "I'm thinking of getting a bottle of champagne for the table. Care to help me with the glasses?"

"Sure," he said, sliding out of his seat.

They met up at the bar, leaning against the side in unison, waiting to be noticed by the bartender.

"So what are we celebrating?" James asked playfully.

Lily thought quickly, not having considered that most people suggest champagne for celebratory purposes. "For new friends?" she suggested.

"For new adventures?" he parried.

"For new memories, or lack there of if we drink too much?"

He gazed at her for a moment before saying, "For new love."

Lily met his eyes. "I like that." They stared at each other for a moment just grinning. James considered briefly closing the short distance between their hands. As he looked at it, Lily's hand left the bar. She moved it as if to touch James' chest, to submit to the urge to feel his jersey, when she caught herself. She shook her head, letting her hand fall to her side. She gazed once more down the bar for a server. "After all, your mixer is right around the corner. The girl of your dreams will be there."

James slowly nodded his head and the raised a hand to wave the bartender over. "I'm sure she will be." James smiled at Gregory, the owner of the bar. "Can we get a bottle of the 74' champagne? Your good stuff?"

Gregory smiled. "What's the occasion?"

"No occasion," Lily smiled, looking at the bartender through her eyelashes. Greg raised an eyebrow and turned back to James.

"We're toasting to future love," James interjected. "This is Lily, my… friend."

"Hi Lily, I'm Gregory. I own this place. And if you're a friend of James', you're a friend of mine. And if you're not more than friends with James, I would love to give you a drink on the house."

Lily's eyebrows shot up in surprise as James clenched his jaw tight, trying not to chew out or curse the man in front of him.

"Well, in that case, how about giving us that bottle for half price?" Lily said, leaning her elbow on the bar, holding flirtatious eye contact with Greg.

Greg reached under the bar without looking and pulled out a bottle. Popping the cork with a flourish, he placed it down in front of Lily with a smile. "If you promise to come back up to the bar again tonight, this one can be 100 percent on me."

James quickly pulled out his wallet and threw a few galleons on the table. "That won't be necessary Greg. We'll take one more bottle and nine glasses though." James smirked. "Keep the change as well my friend."

Greg pulled out another bottle and turned to the back of the bar for the glasses, walking deliberately slow.

"Why don't you take the bottles to the table?" James said, sliding the bottles towards her. "I think I can handle the glasses."

Lily shook her head and smiled at James. "Fine, but why did you turn down free champagne?"

"Greg really doesn't really have the money to spare to hand out the best of his stock for free to beautiful women. And I don't want a knockout like you putting the poor man out of business."

Lily blushed as her mouth fell open slightly. "Um… James?"

"Yes?"

"How much have you had tonight?"

James put his hand dramatically up to his chin, as though in deep thought. "Well, we did do 25 rounds of fire whiskey shots." Lily rolled her eyes and grabbed the bottles. "Common Lily, I'm sure bartenders give you free drinks constantly. What's wrong with paying for once?"

Lily met his eyes defiantly, trying to hold back the blush that her earlier drinks made flood so easily to her cheeks. "It's not that often."

"Let me guess, more than 50 percent of the time, you don't pay a dime when you and Beth go out."

"But that's with Beth," Lily said, turning away feeling embarrassed.

As she started moving toward the table, James smiled at her back, "And Beth's with you."

He said it just loud enough for her to hear. Lily stopped and turned to her head to look over her shoulder, her hair sweeping across her bare back. "Well James, you'd save money at bars too if only you went to ones with female bartenders." James smiled widened. "We're not all that different I think."

"I've gotten a drink or two before," James admitted.

"So much in common!" Lily laughed, finally moving towards the table.

So as to be polite, James did not allow himself to watch her leave (as nice as the view would have been). He turned back to the bar to see Gregory watching her departure for him.

"Nice find," he said, his eyes still following Lily's backside. "Where do I get one like that?"

James narrowed his eyes. "Gregory, hands off. Not this one."

He lifted one eyebrow. "What are you a dog? Have you marked your turf? Oh, that's kinky James."

"Gregory," James said grabbing the glasses off the bar. "Remember that time someone vanished all the glasses from you bar in the middle of the Saturday night rush?" Greg nodded. "Do you want that to happen again?"

Greg eyes widened in surprise and pointed at James face. His eyes quickly narrowed. "_YOU?"_

"I will neither confirm or deny involvement in that unfortunate... incident. I will just say karma is a bitch and you should stop staring at her ass before I forget wands and just break these champagne glasses on your face." James smiled. "No offense."

Greg looked hard at James before smiling. "You can have this one but if she has friends…."

"I'll bring them in," James said finally, glad he hadn't just started war with the guy who owned his favorite bar. "Later man."

James made his way back over to the table, carefully holding the glasses in between his fingers. "Bottoms up everyone!" James slid into the seat next to Lily and began to pour for the table.

The rest of the night went smoothly aside from when Sirius tried to sling his arm around Beth. He would sport a black eye in the morning. Lily and James on the other hand spent most of the night talking with each other while trying desperately not to look too much at the other. Beth smirked to herself across the table watching her best friend battle emotions she hadn't seen in her for ages.

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><p><em><strong>Once again, I am sooooo sorry for the delay here! I'm still not 100% crazy about this chapter but I've already started the next which, so far, I like a lot more. But I guess what really matters is what you all think… sooooooo what did you think?<strong>_

_**I'm trying to figure out just how mature James is at this point in his life so please let me know what you think of his character development. I think I understand my Lily and I'm basing Beth and Jonathan's personalities off of friends so we're set there.**_

_**As always, please remember to review! It gives me such encouragement to engage with the people reading my stories!**_

_**Also, if anyone knows of a good Beta, I have a feeling it wouldn't hurt to get one...  
><strong>_

_**Anyway, next chapter we'll be selecting the ladies for the mixer. Get excited!**_

_**Best Wishes!**_

_**Melissa**_


	8. Casting the Competition

_**** NOTE TO MY READERS: I'm at a bit of a writers block and your reviews help so much! Let me know your thoughts and what you think could be up next/ what you hope to find out? You have no clue how much your engagement helps break my writing slumps. ****_

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><p>Beth burst through Lily's office door moving quickly to the couch and collapsing with a sigh. Lily looked over at her expectantly.<p>

"I really must thank you again Lily," said Beth closing her eyes, stretching her arms lazily over her head.

"For going out last night?" Lily asked. "I'm actually glad you pushed me out, it was fun to…."

"Not for that silly, you should be thanking _me_ for that. I meant for Amos."

Lily smirked, "That good?"

"We're just so wonderfully matched. Because you see, he gets really handsy when he drinks and I get very randy when _I _drink which makes things absolutely animalistic when we get home. All hands and mouths and…"

"Alright, I get the picture," said Lily standing from her desk. "I don't need to hear all the details. I'm just thankful you went to his place and I didn't actually have to hear it through the walls."

Beth smirked, putting her hands behind her head. "You're just jealous."

"Of course. You get to have mind blowing sex with the man you love while I'm at home cuddling with my pillow."

"As if you didn't have the option of mind blowing sex yourself," said Beth, turning her head to look at Lily's stiff form. "If I were you, I would have taken Mr. Potter home and had my way with him on our kitchen counter."

Lily shivered. "Please tell me you and Amos haven't done it on the surface on which I make my dinner."

"Not yet," said Beth wickedly.

Lily groaned. The truth was that last night had been lonely but only until she fell asleep. Nearly the exact situation with the exact individual mentioned by Beth was in her dream, only it wasn't the kitchen counter; it was the shower wall.

"Jonathan!" Lily called through the intercom, her hand running through her hair in frustrated. "Can you come in here so I don't have to be alone with this crazy woman?"

"Be right there," called an answer through the speaker. "But I can't save you in your own apartment later tonight."

"He does have a point," said Beth, sitting up into a normal position on the couch.

Lily shook her head. A few moments later, the door opened and Jonathan entered with a large stack of head shots. "We have a nice crowd of women out there. I think there may be a few winners in the bunch."

"Great," said Lily. "Do we have any other millionaires in the agenda? Do we want to match James up with another client for a joint mixer?"

Beth stood up and moved toward the cabinet on the other side of the room, opening the second drawer. Pulling out a folder she said, "Enrique is green again. We could try that once more."

"Enrique?" said Lily surprised. "What happened to Melanie? She was perfect! And that was only a few months ago!"

Beth flipped the file open and laughed. "Looks like they broke up two months back because he was jealous of her ballroom dance partner. The file on Melanie also shows that she has now run to Russia with said dance partner." Beth smirked. "Poor Enrique. That's tough." She put on a sexy Russian accent. "Vladimir is tough competition."

"Do you think he'd be intimidated by James?" asked Lily plowing along in business mode. "So soon after being run out on?"

Beth laughed. "Enrique is a chauvinistic pig. He probably pushed her to Russia more than she ran out on him. He needs a stronger girl who can put him in his place. I think if we toss a girl with a bit of fight at him, we may see the opportunity for a love connection."

Jonathan and Lily joined Beth's laughter. "Okay, we'll pull for Enrique as well then. He's only 41 so that's not too bad for a mixer partner to James."

"What are we looking for in James' candidates?" asked Jonathan, spreading the head shots on Lily's desk.

"Smart, funny, risk taking type with a wholesome sexiness. For looks, a bit of girl next door with a dash of rock star's bombshell girlfriend who goes on the tour bus around the country. But with real boobs."

"Non-Hogwarts would be a plus," said Beth quietly. "From what Amos says, most of the girls at Hogwarts threw themselves at him at school or slept with Sirius at some point."

"Ok, so we'll add foreign girls preferred to the list," said Lily, marking a note on her pad. She shifted back towards her desk and leaned over the head shots. "May as well get this over with. Jonathan, can you pull in our chairs? Beth, can you make sure Emily gets the girls in line for the screening and keeps the ugly ones from getting into my office?"

Both love soldiers nodded and went to prepared for the screening. Lily grabbed the files and moved to adjust the room. Once the desk was shifted slightly, she settled James and Enrique's files on her lap as she waited for Jonathan to bring in the chairs.

Before she could stop herself, she slipped out the pictures of James. Her favorite was the one she had taken at their first meeting. While his hair wasn't artfully styled by Liam and he was lacking in the suit department, there was something wonderful to look at with the slight stubble on his chin and gleam of mischief in his eyes that shone in the photo. As if reading her mind, the face in the picture gave Lily a wink. Shaking her head at her own weakness, she winked back at the picture and slid it back into the file.

In no time, Beth, Jonathan and Lily situated themselves in their seats. "So I think we need twenty woman total for the party," Lily said in a hushed voice as Emily led in the first three women.

"This is Bella, Harriet and Laura," said Emily, closing the door as she left the room.

"Hello ladies," said Jonathan kindly with a smile. Lily shuffled through her files bring the three woman to the top.

She flipped over the first file and laughed. Holding up a head shot of what looked to be a supermodel, she looked at Laura amused. "This is you?"

"Yes," she said with a smile.

"Yeah, maybe ten years ago." Lily muttered. The girl in front of her was at least 30 pounds heavier with wrinkles covering her forehead. "How old are you?"

"Thirty four," she replied with a nod.

"Honesty, nice." Lily said scanning her file. "But I don't think these men are for you, or my club." Lily passed the file to Beth who tossed it in the reject pile to her left. "Now Bella, you're twenty two, five foot nine. What do you do?"

The leggy brunette smiled. "I'm an actress."

"A working actress?" said Beth raising an eyebrow.

Bella shrugged her shoulders slightly. "I get a gig here and there. Most recently I filmed a muggle advertisement for shampoo."

"Interesting," said Lily writing a note. "Do you want children?"

"Oh definitely," she said eagerly.

"Tomorrow?"

"I'm not sure if I'm in the right place in my life to want kids tomorrow," she admitted, looking a bit nervous.

Lily eyes the woman closely. She had shoulder length brown hair, which was nothing to write home about but great bone structure and a slamming body. "For James?" She asked to Beth and Jonathan.

Jonathan turned to the girl. "What's the most adventurous thing you've ever done?"

The girl thought for a moment. "I'm not much of a risk taker. I snuck around Hogwarts after hours once or twice to… meet at study partner."

"Snog in the fourth floor broom closet more likely," muttered Lily.

"Do you remember Sirius Black?" asked Beth.

Bella let out a sigh. "Oh yes I do. He was beautiful."

Next to Bella, Hariet stiffened. "And do you know Sirius Black, Harriet?" asked Beth with a smirk.

"He… we met at a bar one night a year back."

"Ok," said Lily, stopping the conversation. "I like Bella for James. Even though she went to Hogwarts, it doesn't sound like she knew that crew too well first hand so they may never have crossed paths. Plus she wasn't in Gryffindor or I would know her. The others are probably not right for this party." Lily turned back to the group. "Thanks for coming in."

After another seven unremarkable rounds of women, Lily told Emily they needed five minutes to discuss and to give them a break. She turned to the others. "I think we have a problem."

"I warned you," said Beth looking frustrated. "Amos would never admit he wasn't the cats meow of them all unless it really was that big of a deal."

"More than half of these woman either have already slept with Sirius or had major stalking issues with James at school!" Lily leaned back in her chair exhausted.

"On the bright side," interjected Jonathan. "I think Hilary will be great for Enrique unless Jean steals his attention away first."

"Those two are good but Enrique is a much easier cast than James." Lily walked over to her closet and pulled out a bottle of wine. Pouring she said, "I never knew finding the right girl for a guy as great and attractive as James would be so difficult."

"The challenge isn't to find women who would like him if they connect. The challenge is finding a woman he'll fall head over heels for enough that he won't keep looking at you when you're not looking." Beth stole the wine glass from Lily and drained it quickly.

"Shut up," said Lily grabbing and filling another glass.

They moved back to their chairs, wine in hands now as the next group was led in. Lily smiled in pleasure. "Now this is more like it."

The ladies in front of her looked like they had dropped out of heaven. "This is Gwen, Kiera and Alexandra."

"But call me Lexi," said Alexandra in a sweet Romanian accent.

"Durmstrang?" asked Jonathan.

"Yes," she smiled seductively at him.

"What's the craziest thing you've ever done Lexi?" asked Beth, leaning forward in her chair.

"I once went skinny dipping in Costa Rica," she said with a wink.

"And you're twenty three, working as an assistant to the Romanian ambassador. Are you looking to get married Lexi?"

"Oh, definitely," she said rolling her shoulders back, readjusting her posture. "I am really looking forward to having kids and starting to raise a family."

Lily's eyes roamed up her body. She almost looked fake. Her tanned skin, not pale like most of the Romanians she'd met, was smooth. The short red dress she wore made her legs look like they went all the way to the sky. She curved in all the right places but still looked accessible. Her dark black hair fell in waves down her shoulders, sitting just at the crest of her cleavage (which, lucky for her, looked real).

Lily handed her file silently over to Beth. Beth placed the file in the 'yes' section. There was no question. Lily, however, couldn't help but suppress a shudder as the folder left her hand.

"Kiera," Lily said, placing a smile on her face through the discomfort in her stomach. "Tell me about you. Do you like quidditch?"

"My father was a beater for Ireland," she said with a proud smile. "I've been around it all my life."

"And you're a healer in training?" asked Jonathan, looking at the file over Lily's shoulder.

Kiera nodded proudly. "Only a month of residency left and I'll be licensed. Not to brag but I've already received a job offer at St. Mungos in the magical bites department."

'Would get along with Remus then,' thought Lily handing the file to Beth, who again, placed the file in the yes pile without further prompting. It didn't take long for Lily to figure out Remus' secret. In the same way some people have gay-dar, Lily could sense a magical secret from miles away. Not that being a werewolf was anything to be ashamed of but to get along with that group, a girl would need to have an open, unprejudiced mind.

"And Gwen." The blond nodded at Beth happily. Every slight movement made her large chest bounce. Even Lily was having trouble keeping eye contact.

"She has the rock star girlfriend bit down," murmured Jonathan to Lily, who smacked him lightly and forced herself to look at the girl's face (which, frustrating enough, was also very nice).

"What do you do Gwen?" asked Lily, fiddling with the file.

An attractive blush took over her cheeks as a sweet southern drawl slipped out of her lips. "I'm just temping for the moment. I was writing for the Salem daily when… well… my boss made a bit of a move on me."

"You're kidding," said Beth with a scowl.

"Yeah, well," she continued nervously. "I decided to jump the pond and see if I could catch a job at The Prophet when one opens up. My old pen pal Rita said that they're going through reporters like ribs at a Texas barbeque."

Lily smiled. This girl was her favorite. Even if she didn't get James, she was just the kind of girl the club needed regularly at her parties. "You looking to settle down? Even though your job isn't stable?"

"I definitely want to get married. And don't worry about my job situation," she said grinning. "I don't care much if I work or not but I want to be writing in some way, shape or form. And being here is just so inspiring. I know a lot of great authors travel to write their books. I've started a novel since I've had the free time."

"And what are your thoughts on cliff jumping and bungee jumping?" asked Beth, grabbing the girl's files out of Lily's hands, who had been twisting it absentmindedly.

"Well, I've never been bungee jumping but my cousins and I used to jump off this really tall dock by our grandparent's lake house. It had to be at least two stories high. So I guess cliff jumping and bungee jumping is an exciting next step."

Lily rose, shaking with excitement. "Well, ladies, clear your schedules for Saturday. It's time to take the leap into love."

After a few more rounds of interviews, they were done for the day, collapsed around Lily's office in happy exhaustion.

"I think they'll like them," Lily said, eyes closed, legs kicked up on her desk.

"I think Enrique will pick Lexi. She's got that sexy, strong, foreign feel," Beth shimmied her shoulders and sipped from her wine.

"I liked her for James," said Jonathan. He was laying across the love seat, his legs dangling off one of the arms.

"I think Kiera will win James." Lily said, ignoring the rush of discomfort in her stomach. It felt too much like jealously. She tried to shake it off. "She's got spunk. But I'm in love with Gwen. She is just the sweetest thing."

"_I know!_" cried Beth in excited. "She's very Miss America, southern bell type. I can see her now milking cows and twirling fire batons."

"And I could almost see down her shirt," said Jonathan through a yawn.

"We did good all," said Lily, smiling sadly. "Now we just need to guide the men to the women of their dreams at this party."

Beth glanced over at Lily, frowning slightly at the look on her face. "You did really well today Lily. These are some great girls. Best lot we've had to work with in a while. You're very good at your job."

"That's why they pay me the big bucks."

Beth shook her head and said to herself; so quiet Lily couldn't catch it. "I just hope you don't hate yourself later for being so good."

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><p><em><strong>And Voila! A quick update (you can love me again)! And I think I like it! I was a bit nervous about the casting chapter but once I just went for it, it poured out (I've definitely been watching too much Millionaire Matchmaker).<strong>_

_**Just a quick clarification because people keep asking: This fic is definitely AU but while changing some major things (Hogwarts Story, Ages, Snape relationship), I'm trying to keep honest to most of the details of Potterverse. **_

_**So anyway, still waiting for inspiration for the next chapter so keep REVIEWING and tell me what you think! How do you think Enrique should be? How do you think James should react to the women?**_

_**Thanks again for all the support and for all my new readers, WELCOME! I hope you enjoy the ride. I'm trying to update regularly and finish this story at some point in hopefully less than 10 more chapters. Feel like much longer and it will drag on.**_

_**Next chapter will either be a scene with the marauders or the mixer. Only time, random inspiration and your suggestions will tell!**_

_**Best Wishes,**_

_**Melissa**_


	9. Brain Swelling

"So," said Travis, leaning against the wall of James' cubicle. "I hear you have an eventful weekend coming up." He wiggled his eyebrows in amusement.

"Shut up," said James, continuing to write his report. With Lestrange in Liverpool to worry about, he really didn't have time for Mark Travis today.

"A dating service? Have you lost your touch Potter?"

"I'm busy Travis."

"I mean," he continued, still leaning on the cubicle. "The great James Potter, having ladies pick up ladies for him? After Hogwarts, who would have ever thought that day would come?"

Without looking at him, James drew his wand and muttered quietly. Mark Travis' head slowly swelled to double its size. His eyes widened in surprise.

James finally looked up from his work to survey his co-worker. "Can I get back to saving the wizarding world now?"

"I saw that Potter," cried a hoarse voice across the room.

"Sorry I'm not sorry Alastor," said James simply, turning his chair to address his supervisor. "I need to focus on this report so I can get to Liverpool before Lestrange blows something up. Travis was slowing me down."

"Scram Travis," said Moody, swatting a hand at him. Looking affronted, Mark and his oversized head moved to the other side of the cubicle area and settled at his own desk. The top of his head could still be seen over the top of the wall.

"And to be honest sir, I think I did him a favor. Now he can finally fit his ego in there."

Moody flashed a rare smile. It didn't make him more attractive or less threatening but James took it as a sign of success. "I can't argue with you there. But if you're going to hex your co-workers, at least do it when I can't see you. The paperwork is nasty."

"Like I said," said James. "That spell could have been for medical reasons. I suspected brain swelling and to avoid injury, I engorged his head to give him some time to seek proper medical assistance."

"We'll go with that," said Moody, dropping into a seat in James' cubicle. "Any luck on Lestrange?"

James passed his nearly complete papers to Moody. "I know he's in Liverpool but he's laid low so far. As far as I can tell, this is a recruiting mission but just to be safe, I'm going to station a few aurors out there. I think it would be good for the trainees and a few supervisors to handle as a stealth mission." James turned and grabbed a note pad. "I was thinking Edgar Strong could keep those new kids, Justin and Molly, in line. Maybe send Judy and Mac just in case something bigger happens."

"Not planning to jump in yourself?" Asked Moody, raising his eyebrows, stretching and squeezing the scars across his face. "That must be a first."

"I have an engagement that can't be missed tomorrow," said James, taking his papers back. "I plan to head out this afternoon and set up a base for them however and scout likely meeting points if death eaters are planning to congregate in the area."

"Very good," said Moody standing. He gazed down at the boy suspiciously. "But what are you doing that's so important this weekend Potter? This isn't like you." He gazed directly into James eyes, trying to read for any sign of betrayal.

"I'm not joining up with Voldemort if that's your concern sir," James eyes twinkled amused. He ran a hand through his hair, trying to phrase the situation without getting an eye roll from his boss. "Sirius set me up to go to this party to meet women." Not really a lie since his best mate had dragged him into Lily's office in the first place.

"That boy is trouble," said Moody gruffly. "But I'm assuming I'll still see you on Sunday?"

"And Sirius. We wouldn't miss it."

"See you at the meeting then," Moody said in a hushed tone. He then quickly moved down the room, casting a spell at Travis' head, decreasing the size slightly, but not quite enough.

James smiled watching him walk away. One thing Travis had said was right; it would definitely be a very eventful weekend.

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><p><em><strong>Boom! Another short chapter (the shortest so far I think) but I wanted to show you a bit of James' work life before jumping into the mixer. Thank you to everyone who has sent me ideas! One of your comments actually made me feel better about something I was already thinking of doing.<br>**_

_**I hope you enjoyed James hexing Mark Travis. I thought it'd be something he'd do. **_

_**Anyway, the next update may take a bit longer than these last three (which I know came very quickly and I spoiled you). The next chapter will probably be a long once since there will be a lot to get through.**_

_**And if you're wondering how James managed to spend all day with Lily a few chapters back, James typically works 18 hours days four days a week and is on call for two additional. Obviously, if an attack occurs on his day off, he jumps in as well but otherwise, he has three days a week when he is free to recover and be social. **_

_**Next up, MIXER! Also, if I can reach 50 reviews before I post chapter 11, I will donate $100 to charity (no lie). So review, review, review!**_

_**Best Wishes,**_

_**Melissa**_


	10. Bad First Impressions

James looked at the ivy covered building incredulously. Once again, it looked more like a place for his grandmother than for him. It was a three story wooden home, covered in wild ivy and flower baskets. It sat on the muggle side of London by the water. The Thames led into these gated canal areas and the place sat just along the side of a yacht dock. He eyed the dock curiously, half hoping they could relocate the event to onto that instead. Taking a deep breath, he quickly climbed the four steps of the building, walked across the wooden deck, and opened the door to face his fate.

Which really, wasn't all that bad. The ivy and flowers gave way to a true English pub, dark wood and the smell of campfire all around. Two lads stood behind the deserted midday bar watching the football game on an impossibly small television.

He spotted Lily sitting at the other end of the bar, staring at an equally tiny television with the same game on. Her hands held either end of the set, gripping as one of the teams drove towards the goal. "Stop him!" she cried just as the bartenders yelled, "Go! Go!" The player scored on the break away causing the two men behind the bar to jump up and down and Lily to pound the bar in frustrated rage.

She watched the dancing bar men with a scowl before smiling slightly at the two young, fit blokes dancing like idiots. She looked around to see if anyone else was there to see it, to laugh with her when she spotted James by the door. Only he wasn't sparing the men a glace. His eyes were glued on her. She tried to hold back a blush.

He smiled as they made eye contact and walked towards her. Lily started straightening herself out, adjusting her dress nervously. '_Why on earth am I primping?_' Lily scolded herself in her head. But she couldn't help but admire her good work with James' makeover and feeling like she could use the primping in order to look presentable next to him.

He looked smashing, downright and proper gorgeous. '_Screw the tie_,' Lily thought to herself. James wore a clean pair of dark, straight leg jeans with a white bottom down shirt all topped with a well-tailored, black corduroy jacket. He looked like he had walked straight out of a romance novel.

But even without extra primping, James was admiring Lily's appearance just as much. The tight, brown wrap dress clung to her like a second skin. She wore a pair of heels tall enough to give her already shapely legs even more tone. Her hair, again curly, was worn in a ponytail and tossed lazily to the side, falling over her shoulder.

"So glad you found it here alright," she said when they were a few feet away from each other. "We're right upstairs. I'll show you the way."

James smiled and grabbed her, pulling her into a tight hug. "It's nice to see you too Lily-Pad!"

Lily smiled against the corduroy jacket before pushing her way out of his arms. "Mr. Potter." She frowned up at him, not actually mad.

"What?" James said innocently. "Friends can't hug?" He knew snogging her was probably off limits but he thought hugging might still be on the table.

"I'm your matchmaker today James," Lily said quietly, not making eye contact.

"Okay," said James smiling wider. "Double hugs tomorrow."

"You have a date tomorrow if we do our work right tonight Mr. Potter," she said, moving back towards the entrance hall. "You can hug _her_ as much as you like... within reason."

James followed her out and toward the stairs. "Whatever you say Lily-Pad."

As they started up the stairs, Lily went on business autopilot. "This little gem of a place is owned by David Cartwright. Do you like it?"

"Yes, I'm surprising pleased."

"Thought this would be your style once you get through the door," she cast a glace at James. "Anyway, Dave's a wizard but most of his clients are muggles. So just a heads up, first and second floors are no-magic zones. Third floor is all magical clientele so minor spells are welcome."

James nodded in understanding as they reached the third floor landing. "But no NEWT level stuff?"

"I think that's a safe bet," Lily smiled and led James into the main area. "This will be the social hall for the mixer. We're still setting up. You'll meet all the girls here. Then, you'll move to a private room downstairs for your two mini dates. For now though, I'll introduce you to Enrique, your mixer bachelor partner. He's in the holding space you'll be waiting in while the girls arrive. We already have a drink and some hor d' ouvres waiting for you."

The pair walked into a smaller room on the other side of the building.

"Who's winning?" asked Enrique staring at Lily, ignoring James completely.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Enrique, meet James. James, Enrique."

Enrique came forward extending a hand, which James took and shook. "Nice to meet you James. Really. But it would be even nicer to meet you if you could give me an update on the game. They won't give me a damn television up here."

"Chelsea just scored. They're leading 2 to 1 with 4 minutes left," Lily answered with a sour look. "Happy now?"

Enrique smiled flirtatiously at Lily. "Very," he said, scanning her body.

She stood up quickly. "Well, I need to help the others finish setting up. I'll leave you boys to get to know each other." At the door, she quickly decided to add, "No wizard duels before the mixer though."

James laughed. "We'll do out best to save it for later if the need arises."

"You can learn from this one Ricky," said Lily with a smile and quick as a flash, she was out the door and the men were left alone in the small, sun filled room.

James moved over to the mini-bar and pulled out a beer. "Want one?" Ricky nodded. James threw the bottle at him and grabbed another for himself. Ricky grabbed it with ease and popped it open with his belt buckle.

"First timer?" Enrique asked.

"I'm assuming this isn't yours?"

"Third time around." He took a deep swig of his ale. "Not really complaining though. Once you've been matched by Ms. Evans, going to bars to pick up women just doesn't cut it. Plus having Lily around isn't too much of a pain for the eyes either."

James decided to ignore the last comment. "So Lily really can pick 'em then? No ogres waiting to attack out there?"

"Oh, all women are ogres. Just some of them are fun to look at."

James put his bottle down on the table. "So why didn't the first two times work out for you? If you don't mind me asking?"

Enrique shrugged. "They didn't fit into my lifestyle. Lily and Beth say I have 'control issues' which is bullshit," he said, pulling out the finger quotes. "Just because I create perfection at work as a plastic surgeon doesn't mean I need it at home. I just have high standards for women. And if they can't live up, she's not the one."

James nodded. "What are your non-negotiables then?"

"Well, Lily made me cut it down to twenty."

"Isn't it normally five?"

"I started with 57."

James eyebrows lifted. "Oh."

"Yeah, I know. But I don't want much really! I just want a girl who cooks, doesn't smoke, likes to hit the gym, wakes up early to run, doesn't mind pet snakes, doesn't snore, doesn't take up a ton of closet space, isn't no stinking vegetarian and who doesn't disagree with me too often."

"Not into big debates then," James said, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Just get tired of always winning them," he said cockily.

James stared his him for a moment before a grin began to take over his face. "Where's the loo?"

"Round the corner mate."

"Thanks," said James, draining his bottle and heading out the door.

As soon as he locked the door behind him in the single stall bathroom, he pulled a small mirror out of the inside pocket of his jacket. "Sirius," he called into the glass. Moments later, the face of his best mate appeared.

"Glad you decided to reconsider my offer to join you! I knew you would Prongsy my boy."

"Shut up Sirius," said James, leaning against the sink. "I just met the other guy being matched. He's a huge tool. Total Slytherin, Hufflepuff hybrid type." Sirius pulled a face of revulsion. "I need your help messing with him."

"You can always count on me mate," Sirius barked in laughter. "What were you thinking?"

* * *

><p>James came out of the bathroom a reasonable amount of time later and returned to the holding room, resisting the urge to peek into the social hall. He could hear female voices and laughter floating from the room. He wasn't sure if he was exciting or dreading meeting the people those voices belonged two.<p>

Closing the door behind him, James moved to the couch in the room and sat down smirking. "So Enrique," James eyed the man's suit jacket. "That is a beautiful suit jacket. Did Lily pick it out for you?"

"No actually," Ricky said flattered, smoothing down the garment. "This baby is all mine."

James shrugged out of his own corduroy jacket. "Do you mind if I try it on?"

Ricky smiled kindly. "Might be a bit big on you but I can't see why not." He pulled his off, not quite as gracefully as James. "Just be carefully to keep any mess off it."

James handed Ricky his corduroy jacket, accepting the larger boring black one. He tossed it on and checked the pockets. "Nice," he said, running his hand across the inside liner and pockets. "Where did you get it?"

"Harrods. I find they have fantastic service… for a muggle store. Surprising really."

James walked behind the bar. "Another beer?"

"Sure," answered Ricky.

James bent down to grab one from under the counter. While bent low, he placed the mirror, still reflecting Sirius' beaming face into the inside pocket on the suit coat. "Lager or Ale Ricky?" James popped his grinning face above the counter. "I can call you Ricky right?"

* * *

><p><em><strong>I thought originally that I would post the entire mixer at once but then I had so many fun things to play with, I decided to split it up a bit. Plus a few of your said you liked shorter chapters with more updates. And as I've already written the beginning and part of the middle of the mixer, I thought I'd give you this to keep you until I finish everything else. <strong>_

_**I must say, I think you're all going to like what's coming up! I read all your suggestions and some of them were FANTASTIC! I'm going to have to save for later (and I'm itching to use it, trust me). But anyway, here is chapter 10! **_

_**Since I intended to post the whole mixer before the 50 review/charity donation deadline, I will extend the 50 review deadline to by the time I post chapter 12! **_

_**As always, read and review, give me your ideas, your souls, your thoughts!**_

_**Best Wishes and DFTBA!**_

_**Melissa**_


	11. Focus Issues

"Hello Ladies!" Lily called around the room with a huge smile on her face. The girls let up a cheer. "I hope you are all excited for tonight. You all look beautiful!" Lily watched the girls eye up their competition. There were a few standouts but overall, everyone in the room looked stunning. "Remember the rules of the club. You all have a two drink limit and if you are chosen, no sex before…."

"Monogamy," called back the girls.

"Very good!" Lily looked over at the holding room to see Beth giving her the thumbs up. It was time. "Without further a do, meet my bachelors!"

The girls gave another cheer as Enrique led the way into the room, followed slowly by James. He smiled over at her and she smiled back. Switching her gaze back to the women, she watched them focus in on James like radar, some barely restraining themselves.

Enrique positioned himself to Lily's left, James to her right. Lily patted Enrique on the back. "This handsome gentleman is Enrique Madison. He is 41, loves to exercise and has a successful plastic surgery practice. Say 'Hi Ricky.'"

"Hi Ricky," came a girly call from the twenty women in the room. He waved back with a cocky smile.

"And this," she turned to James with a smile. "This is James Potter, auror extraordinaire. He is 25 years old and many of you Hogwarts graduates may remember him as, and I quote, one of the best quidditch captains Gryffindor has seen this century."

A small hoot came from the crowd of women who had attended Hogwarts. Lily spotted Stephanie Sanders eyeing James hungrily. The girl had decked herself out in Gryffindor colors. '_Oh no,_' she thought to herself. She made a note to herself to quietly escort this Stephanie from the party when an opportunity arose.

"So without further a do, I throw them over to you," Lily said pushing the men gently forward. In a lower voice she whispered, "Go get 'em boys."

Enrique strode quickly forward towards the most beautiful girl in the room, a tall blond model over on the right side of the group. James however held his position for a moment, casting a quick glance back at Lily. She gave him an encouraging wave forward and a smile. He winked at her and turned back to face the women who had already started to form a semi-circle around him. The next hour would blur together somewhat for him.

* * *

><p>Ricky, however, was in his element for this third time around. "Hello Ladies," he said to his circle. They giggled flirtatiously back at him. "So who loves to go on morning runs?" A few of the girls carefully raised their hands, unsure if the classroom like action was appropriate for a situation such as this. Ricky focused in on the tall blond he had spotted earlier who was now raising her hand slightly. "Where about do you like to go running?" He asked her.<p>

"My family lives by this lake in Leeds. I love running by the water," she responded in a soft, feminine voice. "And I'm Lenette by the way."

He grabbed her hand and bent to kiss it when suddenly the sound of a large fart ripped from his person. He straightened disgusted. "Was that you Lenette?"

Her eyes shot wide. "No," she said embarrassed. "That sound came from you I'm pretty sure."

He threw her hand away. "Don't try to blame me like one would blame a dog," he said stepping away from her.

A girl to his left interjected, "No, I'm pretty sure that was you." Right on cue, another large farting noise came from his direction. The girls were split between giggling and looking appalled.

With a huff, Ricky stormed away from the group, knowing that this was going nowhere. Inside the coat, Sirius was trying desperately not to laugh audibly as he listened to Ricky's angry breathing.

* * *

><p>"I remember watching that game you played against Slytherin in your seventh year James. That last goal around Yestin was brilliant." The brunette gazed at James longingly.<p>

James shrugged, feeling uncomfortable. "Yeah I guess." He gazed around the room trying to find Lily again, to get her to save him from a new generation of his Hogwarts fan club. He was suddenly reminded why he had found the constant trail of admirers annoying 95 percent of the time.

"Can we talk something other than Hogwarts?" came a voice with a slight Irish accent.

James turned back to the group and smiled at this new savior. She had straight blond hair cropped to just below her chin. "Gladly," he said relaxing. "What's your name?"

"Kiera," she said, extending a hand, which he shook.

"And what do you do Kiera?"

"I'm about to start a job as a healer in St. Mungos," she said proudly. "Have a month of training left but I've been offered a position for after graduation."

"Congratulations," said James, lifting a glass to the woman. Maybe Lily really did know how to pick them. As he took a sip from his glass, out of the corner of his eye he spotted Lily grabbing the forceful, Hogwarts obsessed girl from his circle, walking the confused girl toward the door. He watched them for a moment. The girl's eyes widened as Lily talked to her, shook her head and continued glancing toward James. After a few more seconds of Lily talking, the girl shoved Lily back and stormed from the room.

James' eyebrow furrowed. "I'll be right back ladies. Just want a word with my matchmaker." He pushed past Kiera gently, forgetting completely about the most appealing woman he had yet encountered in this mixer. He had other things on his mind.

"What was that?" James asked, approaching Lily who was leaning against the wall with her eyes closed.

"That was the reaction of a girl being kicked out of a mixer," said Lily, keeping her eyes closed. "You don't need your old fan club annoying the crap out of you all night." Her eyes popped open and met his. "Unless you liked her. I can ask her to come back."

"No, please don't," James said quickly. Lily smiled. "Only bring her back if I can hex her for pushing you."

"I can do that myself, thanks," said Lily smiling at him. "But what else do you want? Did you really come over here just because a girl pushed me?"

"Maybe."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Well, any of the girls strike your fancy yet?"

James shrugged. "Not really. They're pretty and all but not much entertainment there."

"I saw you talking to Kiera," Lily said, glancing back over to the girls who were eyeing up James and Lily's talking place. "She's a good one. About to take a job in the magical bites department."

James head snapped back over the short-haired blond. "She's okay." He looked back over at Lily, remembering the first time he had seen her. "But she isn't quite what I'm looking for. I didn't feel a spark."

"Well, that's important," said Lily, still looking at the girls, missing the look James was giving her. "Why don't you go over to that group there?" Lily pointed to the right of the bar. "There's a few girls I picked out for you." She turned to face James just as he turned to follow the direction of her finger.

"Sure," he said, non-enthusiastically. "How much longer is this part?"

"You're half way to the mini-dates," said Lily, patting James playfully on the arm. "Now charm the pants off those girls."

James looked down at the redhead with a smirk. "I thought you said no sex before monogamy?"

Lily whacked him behind the head. "Just go you dolt."

"And this is what I pay you for? To hit me?" he said, faking anger. She glared at him. He put his hands up in surrender. "Fine, fine, I'm going." He turned with a smile on his face but felt it falter slightly as he began to move away from the fiery woman behind him. If any of the girls in this room could make he feel half as enthralled as Lily did on a regular basis, he knew who would be getting the date. But somehow, he doubted he'd be able to fully focus on picking any one of the girls in front of him. A part of his mind was still with his matchmaker.

* * *

><p>"What the hell is Lily playing at?" said Ricky, marching up with Beth and Jonathan.<p>

"What?" said Jonathan, looking at the red-faced gentleman in front of him.

"These girls are horrible!" Ricky cried. Beth's eyes widened in shock and guided the freaking man out of the room before he angered all the girls at the party in hearing distance.

She shoved him into the holding room. "What are you bloody on about Ricky? We have a great group out there!"

"They keep farting!" He cried, his arms flailing in anger. Beth tried desperately not to laugh, turning it into a loud cough instead. "Big, loud, disgusting farts. Maybe a little toot I could overlook but even worse, they all try to blame it on me." Beth raised an eyebrow "It's not me! They keep lying!"

Beth let out a sigh. "Okay, I don't know what's happening but is there any chance someone jinxed you? I refuse to believe there is a conspiracy amongst the amazing girls out there against you." Beth took out her wand. "Stand still." Muttering spells, she waved her wand up and down his body. She sensed something around his chest. "Take off your jacket."

He looked up surprised but then leered down at her. "Why? If you want to claim me as you own, you just have to say."

"Because that's the zone I'm sensing magical disturbance," said Beth professionally, ignoring his comment. "You don't seem to be hexed or confounded so it must be something else."

Ricky took off his jacket and handed it to her, still gazing at her figure. She checked the pockets, pulling out keys, papers, a mirror and mints. Furrowing her brow, she raised her wand back up to Ricky. The magical disturbance was gone. She shook her head confused. "I think you'd be best off not wearing the jacket." Beth gathered the other items. "I'll hold onto these."

"What was it?" Ricky asked, concernedly feeling across his broad chest.

Beth shrugs. "I can't find anything anymore. Might be the jacket."

"But it's a muggle jacket! How could that happen?" he cried. He shook his head with a frown. "What good are you if you can't even figure out what's wrong? What am I paying you for?"

Beth scowled but stayed professional. "If you're so unhappy, you can leave."

Ricky walked to the door, peered back out at the girls. "I'll stay," he said with a frown. "I haven't talked to that little blond by the window yet." He strode back out, not sparing Beth another glance.

Shaking her head in disgust, Beth carried the items over the bar. Inside the mirror, Sirius peeped out. He had held up another mirror to give back a normal reflection. Seeing the coast clear, he settled in to wait until James picked him up, brainstorming any other ways to cause trouble.

* * *

><p>James smiled vaguely at the women in front of him, nodding at appropriate intervals as they bragged and flirted, flipping hair and showing bleach white teeth.<p>

It took far longer than James would liked for Jonathan to come up and steer him away to the holding room. "Having fun?" Jonathan asked, nudging some sense back into James.

James glared at Jonathan. "It's thrilling," he said, causing Jonathan to laugh. "Why am I doing this again?"

Jonathan shrugged. "For love?" This made James smile.

The pair walked into the room where Lily sat draped across the couch, looking at the door with a smile. James let himself enjoy the view of her once again. It was always good to have a reason to look at her.

"You've done brilliantly James!" She said, patting the seat next to her. He sank down into in relief, falling close enough to her for their legs to touch. She took a short pause but didn't move away from the contact. "The girls out there are falling all over the reserved and mysterious thing you've been doing."

James smirked raising his eye brows. "I do my best." Good to know that disinterest means mysterious in the matchmaking circles.

"Don't raise your eyebrows, you look smug," she said, nudging him. "It doesn't look good on you." James let the cockiness slide from his face. "So, who did you like?"

"Um," James said, not making eye contact. They sat silently for a few moments.

The smile wavered on Lily's face. "It's ok if you can't remember names. What did they look like?"

James finally got up the nerve to meet Lily's eyes. '_God she's beautiful_.' "Do you want me to be honest?" Lily looked at him confused but nodded. "I didn't really feel a spark with any of them."

Lily rolled her eyes. "A spark doesn't need to be instant."

'_It was with you_,' he thought. Instead of admitting this, he said, "Well if you were me, who would you pick?"

"That isn't how it works James."

"Um… Kiera was nice?"

Lily sighed. "Ricky already picked her."

"See! I tried!" James said smiling shyly.

Lily pulled out her binder with the girls' headshots. "Okay, how about Gwen? She's blond. She's not a Hogwarts fan girl. Smart. Good sense of humor."

"Fine," said James, staring down at the smiling blond in the picture.

"And," Lily flipped through the book. She stopped on a page and swallowed. It was a good pick... but maybe too good. "I think you'd like… Alexandra. You were talking to her for a while earlier."

"Oh right," James said. "The Romanian girl? Yeah, she's fine too." It could be worse, James admitted to himself. Both girls were stunning and neither had seemed too annoying during the mixer.

Lily slammed the book closed, feeling frustrated for reasons she couldn't put her foot on. "They're great," she said in a deadpanned voice. "Enjoy them." She said, storming toward the door.

"I'm sorry," James called after her, standing quickly from the couch.

She stopped and turned around in a huff. "For what?" she said sharply.

James strode towards her quickly, placing his hands on her forearms to make her look up at him. A spark of something went up Lily's spine from the contact. "I should have tried harder to get to know these girls. You shouldn't have had to pick for me. I'll try harder this time." Hazel looked deep into green. "I promise. Please don't be mad at me. That's the last thing I wanted to do today."

As she glared at the sincere look on his face, Lily realized why she was annoyed. It wasn't because he didn't pick his own mini-dates. It's because she knew the ones she picked would be great for him. If she was honest with herself, which she was trying desperately not to be, she would have him fight with her saying he didn't want any of _them_. That he wanted…. "Well," she said taking a deep breath, calming down, focuses on her business. "Fine. You're forgiven." He beamed. She put on a fake smile and met his eyes again. "Let's go give the news to the girls."

* * *

><p>"Thank you all so much for coming out!" Lily's practiced enthusiasm blared at full power. "The gentlemen really enjoyed their time with all of you but alas, they could only pick two women for mini-dates and will only pick one for their master date. However, if you weren't picked, feel free to hang around for a while, get to know Jonathan and Beth who help me cast for other mixers and enjoy the food and drinks!"<p>

Lily looked back at her bachelors, Ricky gazing at the girls he selected hungrily, James staring straight at her once again. Trying desperately not to meet James' eyes, she turned back to the group.

"For Ricky, we have Theresa and Kiera!" Both girls smiled shyly though Lily caught Kiera's eyes flicker towards James sadly. Lily bristled in jealousy. Swallowing, she continued, "And James will have mini-dates with…." Lily paused for dramatic effect. "Lexi and Gwen!" Both girls beamed brightly at James.

"So everybody else, thank you for coming out and enjoy the food!" Lily finished with a huge smile.

"Kiera and Lexi, follow me," called Jonathan, leading the girls to the mini-date rooms on the second floor.

"And Gwen and Theresa, with me!" called Lily, leading the other girls to the waiting room.

Beth walked up to the bachelors, blocking the other non-selected girls from ambushing. "And this is the point at which we get you both a glass of wine."

Ricky laughed. "Because this is the fun part." He walked away towards the bar.

Beth shook her head and whispered to James. "No, because you'll need it." James snorted in laughter and followed Beth towards the bar.

* * *

><p><em><strong>I'm SOOOOO sorry this took so long to post! I've been having major issues writing this part and getting the sexual tension between James and Lily right while women vying for James' attention surround them. However, I think the next chapter will make up for the delay.<strong>_

_**In other news, I'm only 4 reviews from donating $100 to charity! I will only post the next chapter when I have hit 50 reviews so DO IT!**_

_**Anyway, as always, let me know what you think and what you think should happen next!**_

_**Best Wishes,**_

_**Melissa**_


	12. Love Is In My Drink

Alexandra walked over to the table, swinging her hips in a way that reminded James of Hogwarts. He had missed watching women catwalk for him in random corridors. This girl had perfected the talent. She sat down, gracefully tucking her skirt, crossing her thin legs tightly and tucking her ankles underneath her chair.

"I'm very happy you picked me James Potter," she said leaning back in her chair confidently. She let her eyelids fall lazily into a seductive squint.

James raised an eyebrow. He decided not to tell her that Lily had picked these mini-dates for him. "And why is that?"

"Because now I don't have to share. I'm very bad at sharing."

James smirked mischievously. "I guess that puts a threesome out of the question."

Instead of getting flustered (_darn_) or angry (_double darn_), Lexi laughed heartily. "I'll try anything once James... But not twice unless it was good. And like I said, I'm not good at sharing so..."

"So you found it wasn't for you." James leaned back in his own chair, half impressed, half wondering what Lily had signed him up for. "So tell me more about your work Lexi," he said, no longer attempting to sabotage his mini-date. Maybe this change of tactic would put her off more.

Unfazed, she pointed out the window right behind James' back. "You see the tall building out that window?"

James turned in his seat to see. It was a nondescript apartment building, though admittedly it looked a bit unique next to the boats. He turned around and spotted her quickly removing her hand from her pocket. "Yes," he said, ignoring her restless hands. "What about it?"

"The Scandinavian Ambassador lives there, his office is around the corner. Last month, I helped arrange a celebration dinner for him and my boss around the carpets treaty."

James nodded reaching for his wine glass. He watched her watch him hungrily. At the last moment, he changed his hand's course for the water. "The carpets treaty? I'm not familiar."

She let out a breathe of air. It was hard to tell if it was of frustration or boredom. "It was quite boring really. Agreements around not giving visiting visas to those traveling between the countries on flying carpets since the trip would be too long to cover that distance safely on magical thread."

James smirked. "That _is_ quite boring." He placed his water back on the table and picked up his wine. "How about a toast?"

Lexi nearly leapt for her own glass in excitement, dropping her cool cover for a moment. Quickly regaining it, she asked with a cool smile, "What should we drink to?"

James smiled. "To you," he inclined his cup to her. "To me," he raised his cup to his lips. Lips on the glass he finished, "To auror training."

"Why to auror training?"

"Because Alastor Moody gives wonderful lessons on how to tell if someone has spiked your drink." Lexi's mouth fell as James put his nose in the glass, smelling the new bouquet of his wine. "Ah, amortentia. Do you have low self-confidence? You're too beautiful to need to brew this stuff."

Lexi was frozen in shock. They sat in silence for a moment. Finally, she forced out, "Insurance."

James started laughing uncontrollably. "And I thought my day job was supposed to be dangerous."

Lexi relaxed, seeing that he wasn't about to smack her silly. She smiled flirtatiously. "Don't hate me then?"

"Not yet," James said honestly, leaning back, swirling the liquid in the glass lazily before bringing it to his nose again.

"What does its smell like for you?" she asked, studying him in awe. If she hadn't been willing to jump his bones before, she definitely was now.

James gazed into the red liquid pensively. "Clean cotton, the air after it rains and ... something else I've never been able to put my finger on. But it's more familiar now than it has been in the past."

"I smell good leather and sea water," Alexandra said with a shrug. "I'm assuming that means I'll have a love affair on an exotic island filled with motorcyclists."

They were both laughing as Lily approached. She watched them for a moment from the door. She had picked well for James. Lexi was leaning in, engaged in her body language to James who continued to look handsome in his corduroy blazer. He now also wore a satisfied glint in his eye. Lily took a deep breath as a knot started forming in her stomach. '_I wonder if we looked like that at Toquito's,_' a voice inside her head asked. Another voice within her responded, '_Better._'

Suppressing her subconscious inner dialogue, Lily stepped all the way into the room. "Sorry to break this up but I'm going to have to take Lexi away now." The two heads turned to her. Lexi looked disappointed. James, if anything, looked even more satisfied.

Lily walked with Lexi to the door. "Drink up James," Lexi called back over her shoulder.

As they rounded the corner and out of site, James couldn't help but let us nose drift back to the glass to inhale the addictive scent of sweet love.

* * *

><p>A girl leaned over the bar, a slight scowl on her face. But her chest was in the perfect position for Sirius to view from his mirror. He let out a cough, which made the girl jump and look around.<p>

"Down here!" Sirius called from the bar counter.

She looked down and jumped back in surprise as the mirror below her showed, not her face, but that of one of the most stunningly handsome men she had ever the experience to view.

"Hello," he said with a crooked smile.

"Hi," she said, pulling the mirror up to rest against her water glass. "Um, how are you doing this?"

"Doing what? This mirror? Oh, Ms. Evans was afraid that I would steal the attention from my good friend James Potter so banished me to this mirror."

The buxom brunette gasped. "That's terrible!" She looked around to try and spot Lily. When she knew she was definitely out of sight she said, "_I_ wish you were here anyway." The girl winked at the glass.

Sirius beamed. "As do I. And what is your name?"

"Kendra," she said, running a hand through her hair.

"Beautiful," Sirius said sweetly, causing the girl to sigh slightly. "And did it hurt?"

"What?"

"When you fell from heaven?"

She sighed once again. "Somehow, that doesn't sound as bad coming from a mirror." She said with a smile.

Sirius laughed. "That's because it's coming from me and my dear, I was always a bit of an expert on recognizing beauty. And you my dear, are a ten." He let out a dazzling smile, making the girl weak at the knees.

* * *

><p>"And I've brought you the ever so wonderful Gwen," announced Lily returning to the room with the busty blond in the blue dress. "Have fun."<p>

James stared at Lily, begging her with his eyes to just end this day and let him go home. He wouldn't even want a refund. But Lily just winked at him and left the room. Beth was right, he really did need a drink. Too bad he could no longer drink his.

Gwen plopped herself down on the chair.

"So, are you bored of being adored yet?" She asked as soon as her butt hit the seat, her sweet southern drawl lilting.

"Actually, yes," said James, fighting to maintain eye contact. Dresses with necklines that low should not be worn by women with breasts that large. '_Surely however Sirius would disagree._'

"Well I don't see much for you to complain about or is this old news? Tons of beautiful women throwing themselves at you? I heard from one of the other girls you were quite the quidditch star back in your school days."

James shrugged. "Some might say."

"Canons or Jives?" She asked, putting her elbows on the table, framing her chest once more.

Aiming his eyes even higher, now talking to her eyebrows just in case, he said, "Jives of coarse but in the long run I support Ireland."

"Okay, I don't normally pull out the big guns but I saw the other girl you selected for a mini-date and if I've got to fight that, heavy ammo is necessary. My uncle is Luther McCann."

"You're kidding!" James sat up straight. "He was just inducted into the hall of fame last year!"

"Yeah," she said rolling her eyes. "And now it's all he ever wants to talk about. He used to be my favorite uncle. We'd talk about everything but now its all quidditch and the American league all the time."

James swallowed. Something was irking him. "So what do you do for fun?"

"Well," she said, "I don't often anymore but I used to be a competitive horseback rider. Now with developing my journalism portfolio, I've got my hands pretty full until I get a full time position."

James jaw dropped open. He once again reminded himself to keep his eyes above the chin and blindly reached for his wine glass. He pretended to take a sip, keeping his mouth clenched tight.

"Mmmm," he said. "This wine is divine. You must try some!"

"Oh," Gwen said, surprised at the sudden change of topic. "Okay…." She reached for her own glass and sipped. "It's the same stuff they were serving upstairs. Are you feeling alright James?"

James glanced down at her chest before meeting her curious eyes once more. "They gave me a different vintage," he invented wildly. "Here," he said pushing his glass to her, "Try mine."

"Thank you!" she said smiling. "That's very nice. Are you sure?"

He looked at those blinding Mississippi teeth and said, "Abso-bloody-lutely."

Smiling, she took a dainty sip… followed by four large gulps finishing the glass. "You were right, that was the most amazing wine I think I've ever….had." She finished her sentence in a near whisper, her eyes glazing over. She looked off into the distance, not noticing the huge smile coming across James' face. "Oh my god," she muttered. "Oh my god James, I am so sorry but I've just realized something."

James almost laughed. "Whatever might that be?" He asked politely.

"I'm in love!" she declared predictably.

"Hallelujah!" cried James, no longer holding back his chuckles.

"Isn't it wonderful? I didn't realize it until just now! And I'm so sorry. I came here today to fall in love with you James and that just didn't happen. I didn't realize I could even love a woman before today." Her face fell in horror. "What will my parents say?" James snorted. "You're right, who cares! Love concurs all right? And they're all stuck back in the states anyway!"

"No need to apologize to me Gwen," said James, trying and failing to look crest fallen.

"But James, its even worse." Said Gwen, her blue eyes wide. "I've fallen in love with your other mini-date and my god if you take her away from me, I will never forgive you. And nothing compares to the wrath of a woman scorn."

James stood quickly, crossed to the other side of the table and pulled out the chair for Gwen. "I wouldn't dare stand in the way of a woman in love." He helped her to her feet and spun her to face the door. "Go get her!" He gave her a smack on the butt she didn't notice as she raced for the door.

As soon as she turned a corner, James ran to a couch where he collapsed content, very sad he had left the magical mirror with Enrique. '_Just wait until Sirius hears about this. He'll be so proud._'

* * *

><p><em><strong>I hope you guys liked this chapter! I've had most of this part written for a while (and basically have the whole next chapter done too) but needed to get you all to this point before I could share! I had the idea for the amortentia on the train ride home from work one day and just thought it would be very James to do something like that. <strong>_

_**I've got to say, this chapter and the next one… I really like. I hope you all feel the same. I'm itching to post the next one so hopefully you will all see it up in the next few days!**_

_**But in other news, because you are all AWESOME and because this story has hit 50 reviews (woohoo), I will be donating $100 to THON! If you want to know more about THON, search Penn State Dance MaraTHON on YouTube or Google and check it out. I highly recommend donating if you have a dollar or two to spare to help kids with cancer. I spent all of college involved in the organization and am excited to donate as an alumni.  
><strong>_

_**Anyway, the last bit of the mixer is up next! Get excited! I really enjoyed writing what's coming up so I really hope you enjoy reading it!**_

_**Best Wishes!**_

_**Melissa**_


	13. Are You Even Ready For Love?

Lily was standing on the landing, preparing to go down to break up James' mini date with Gwen when she say the girl in question sprinting up the stairs.

"What did he do?" Lily asked in a sigh.

"Who?" Gwen asked, scanning the area slightly out of breath.

"James, obviously."

"Nothing," Gwen said in a rush, still scanning. "Now if you will excuse me."

Lily grabbed her arm gently. "Aren't you going to tell me how it went?"

"First I need to find my love," said Gwen.

Lily frown, hoping against all hope that she was wrong. "But that's what I'm here for Gwen. To find you love."

Gwen's face lit up, her eyes widened with delight. "And you've done wonderfully bringing us together! Now, would you mind finding Alexandra for me? She must know how strongly I feel for her."

Lily's frown turned to a scowl but as Gwen's eyes landed back on Lily, after a third scan of the room for Lexi, Lily's smile was in place. "Of coarse. Anything to help. But first," Lily reached into a side compartment of her purse. "Drink this. It will give you an irresistible glow. Like a Veela."

Gwen hurriedly uncorked the stopper and downed the vial in one. Slowly reality took over, the effect showing on her devastated face and Lily discreetly waved over Jonathan.

"Take her down to the manager's office," whispered Lily, watching Gwen carefully. The tears were inching there way onto her face. "He's out today so you guys can have some privacy. Tell her she had a bad cocktail shrimp or something." With that Lily walked down the steps to the middle landing where she sat for a minute or ten to calm herself down.

* * *

><p>"And that is how I saved a bus full of children," finished Sirius, nodding solemnly.<p>

The group of women melted. What had begun with one woman at the mirror quickly turned into 10 women crowding around.

"I think," a saucy Latina woman picked up the mirror. "That you deserve a kiss for that." She kissed the mirror.

"No! It's my turn!" A petite Asian beauty swept the mirror into her own hands and kissed it.

Suddenly it was pandemonium. Sirius' calls of "There's enough of me to go around," were ignored as the women fought over the mirror.

"What is going on over here?" asked Beth, stomping up to the chaotic display. They all backed away, Samantha clutching the mirror tightly to her chest. Beth held out a hand. "Give it to me."

The girl reluctantly handed over the mirror. Beth looked down at it. "Oh my god."

"Hi Beth! You look lovely today," Sirius winked.

"Oh my god," she said again.

"I'm not your god but I wouldn't mind you calling me daddy," Sirius winked once more.

"How? What? WHY IS THERE LIPSTICK ON THIS?" Beth looked around crazed, waving the mirror in the air.

The rest of the group backed away slowly, leaving a livid Beth screaming at a piece of glass.

* * *

><p>"Care to explain yourself?" Lily stood livid at the door of the mini-date room. Her arms were crossed, her green eyes blazed with fury. The calming down hadn't worked as well as planned but at least she wasn't strangling James at the moment. Not yet.<p>

James shot up off the couch as if the seat had suddenly burned hot. "Explain what Lily?"

"James Potter, how dare you! Are you trying to sabotage your entire mixer?"

"She reminded me too much of my cousin's daughter Justine!" He explained quickly, still standing frozen next to the couch. "The love of horses, the desire to be a journalist, the Shirley Temple curls. I couldn't date that! It'd be like dating family!"

Lily put her hands on her hips. "So you decided it was better to slip her amortentia?"

"Better than trying and failing to not stare at her chest for another five minutes."

Lily's face was growing flushed with anger. "You are disgusting Potter. Why did you even_ bring_ amortentia to the party?"

"I didn't!"

"Then how did you…?"

"Isn't it obvious? Alexandra tried to slip it on me," James said defensively. "Because putting a potion in an auror's drink is a really creative and genius plan." He rolled his eyes at the idea of _that_ working out.

"So you knew and you still gave it to poor Gwen?" Lily's eyebrows were still furrowed.

"I can't win. Did I not mention wanting to avoid looking at my goddaughter's twin's cleavage? I thought that would be a noble thing!"

"Not at the expense of the feelings of a great woman. Gwen is worth ten of you! And now she's crying hysterically from the antidote!"

"I've taken it before. Give her an hour and she'll be fine. They call it _falling_ in love for a reason. There's a bit of impact, a bruise or two, but it wasn't a far fall."

Lily shook her head sadly. "Falling in love is easy, it's the falling out… that hurts… every time." Lily rolled her shoulders back. "Well, I fear to ask, have you selected a girl for the full date?"

James gazed at Lily. He knew who he wanted to take out. It was hard not to just grab the redhead, pull her onto the couch and kiss her senseless. Instead, he just met her eyes and said, "Lexi, obviously."

"You have to be kidding me," said Lily, plopping onto the couch. She looked up at him, desperately trying not to go cross eyed, as she often did when trying to control her temper. "The girl just tried to give you a love potion."

"_Tried_ being the operative word. She tried but she didn't succeed."

"Are you so sure? You _are_ picking her for the master date! Can you plan a date that involves no eating or drinking?"

James crossed his arms defiantly. "I think it's a challenge I can meet. And I had to pick someone and I doubt Gwen would be interested right now."

Lily looked at him disappointed. _Disappointed?_ Yes, she realized, she really was disappointed. He hadn't come into the mixer with an open mind, he had broken one of his brand new favorite girls _and_ he was going out with one of the arguably most beautiful woman to ever grace her club, and definitely the most dangerous. And most importantly, though Lily was trying very hard not to admit it, the whole day she had been hoping against her own will that he wouldn't pick anyone at all. For all the prodding and pushing, she had hoped he would just… that he didn't see what he wanted in any of them.

Instead, Lily just frowned at him, the fight leaving her body. "Your funeral. Let's go face the music." She walked toward the door, James following at a distance. Without turning around she said, "And in case you're wondering, I'm mad at you again."

James bit his lip and said quietly, "I know." The responsible side of his conscious chose now to chime in. '_I'm mad at me too_.'

* * *

><p>"Once again, thank you all for coming out today. These boys have a very difficult decision to make but," Lily swallowed her pride to get out the next sentence. "But I think they both picked amazing women! Ricky here picked... Theresa!"<p>

The group clapped politely and Lily smiled at the group, focusing on how the hell she was going to say her next sentence. For Ricky, Theresa was perfect. She was active and feisty, feisty enough to keep him in line when he got control crazy. The hard part was now.

"And for James," Lily spotted Gwen just holding back tears in the corner. It made her teeth grind so that the next sentence could barely get out under control. She, however, was good enough at her job to hide her mixed emotions. She smiled brightly as she said, "He has chosen Lexi!"

"Yes!" came a cheer from the leggy brunette. The group laughed but Lexi paid no notice as she strutted up the James and wrapped him in a triumphant hug. James made eye contact with Lily over Lexi's shoulder, his arms wrapped weakly around the girl's waist. Lily looked away, not sure anymore if she was just mad or just uncontrollably jealous.

"We have the space for another half hour so thank you for coming, make sure to say hello and let us know how you enjoyed your time and then..."

Jonathan interrupted Lily with a laugh. "And then get the hell out of here!" The room burst into happy laughter.

Shaking her head, she went over to stand by the bar with Jonathan."Now I recall why I keep you around." Lily grabbed a bottled of Strongbow from under the bar without needing to look. She rolled her shoulders, trying to release some of the tension.

"Glad to be of service," he said with a smile. "But I must say you surprised me Lily. I thought for sure Mr. Potter would not be joining us alive for the announcement."

The laughter fell out of Lily's eyes. "How did Gwen hold up to the first wave of antidote?"

"Well my shoulder is a bit damp now from her tears but she's managing okay overall."

"Do you think we could ever convince her to come to another mixer?"

He shrugged. "Maybe. I invited her to join us all for a night out tomorrow."

Lily bit her lip. "I can't make it tomorrow night. Plans."

He smiled. "Date?"

Lily put her lips up to her bottle. "Wouldn't you like to know?" She let her eyes slide over to James as she thought of the Order meeting the next night. She knew he was in it, she knew everyone who was in the order. It was nice knowing that the knowledge didn't go both ways.

Jonathan noticed the direction of her gaze. "Still considering killing him?"

Lily laughed. Just then, Beth walked up and moved James away from Lexi, a look of annoyance on both girls' faces. "Beth might have it handled." Lily smiled and watched the pair with interest.

* * *

><p>"And I believe this is yours," Beth said glaring at James. She handed him the rectangular mirror.<p>

Looking down at his smiling friends face, the glass of the mirror covered in lipstick marks, he looked back up and extended the mirror back to Beth. "You can keep him."

Beth shook her head and pushed it back at him. He slid the mirror into his pocket and walked back over to Lexi to figure out when to have their date.

Lily filled his place by Beth. "What was that about?" asked Lily curiously.

"You'll be mad," said Beth quietly, taking a sip from her drink.

Lily huffed. "What now? After what he did to poor Gwen, I don't know how it could get any worse."

Beth looked sideways at her best friend. "You know your rule about not bringing friends to your mixer?" Lily nodded. "Well, I think James found a loophole."

Lily's mouth fell open. "What?"

"He had Sirius in this mirror. I came out to see that man-whore chatting up the rest of the girls from inside a piece of glass." Beth hesitated. "The mirror may or may not have been smeared with lipstick."

Lily's eyes flashed with anger. "That's it."

She stormed over to where James and Lexi were talking. Grabbing James arm, she pulled the two apart. "Sorry Lexi, but I need to steal away loverboy."

"But I thought I won him," she said with an evil smirk. "Get your own."

Lily's eyes widened. '_You've got to be fricken kidding me._' "Don't worry about it. I'll give him back." She marched him away, holding his arm quite a bit too tight. "But not promising he'll still be in one piece," Lily murmured to herself, too quiet for even James to hear.

"I'll see you tomorrow," called James to Lexi. Lily tugged on his arm harder, bringing his attention back to the dangerous matter at hand.

Lily shoved James in the holding room and slammed the door behind her, locking it. She whipped out her wand and placed a silencing charm around the room. "You sincerely need to grow up James Potter!" she said in a dark quiet tone. She ran her hands through her hair, ripping it from its ponytail. She paced the room furiously, trying to contain her uncontrollable level of anger.

James mouth fell open aghast. "What did I do now? Is Gwen really that bad? I'll go apologize…"

"Oh Gwen is just the tip of the bloody iceberg Potter!" She stormed up to him and shoved him back. Her tone was no longer hushed and quiet but loud and furious. "I know about Sirius."

"What about him?" he said innocently.

"The mirror you idiot! Don't pretend you don't know."

"Hi Lily," came a call from James pocket.

James pulled out the mirror in a rush. "Goodbye Sirius." The mirror went blank. He quickly shoved the glass back into his pocket and turned to face the livid redhead who was even closer and angrier than she had been before. "Um… sorry?"

"Why did you even waste my time?" she said, coming closer still, causing him to step back, nearly pressed against the wall.

"I didn't," he said somewhat hurt. "I picked someone didn't I?"

"Yes, the woman who slipped a love potion in your cup."

"You picked her for the mini-date," he mumbled quietly. On the defensive, he turned cocky. "But don't get jealous now Lily. It doesn't become you. You can come along on our date if you want."

Lily's eyebrows furrowed even more. James couldn't help but think it made her look sexy somehow, the way her green eyes lit up like fire when she lost control of her anger.

"THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH ME!" Lily screamed into his face. Quieting down to the dark and dangerous tone, controlled and calculated she said, "You have wasted my time because you are not looking for love. I was wrong about you. I thought you were better. A better man than Sirius. I thought you were a grown up who wanted to fall in love, who deserved to find the right girl. Clearly I was wrong. You're nothing more than an _immature_ little prank playing _boy_ who can't do anything without his friends and has _no _interest in finding love at all."

James stared into her eyes as she yelled, trying not to feel hurt by her words. "Why not let me know how you really feel Lily?" he tossed back at her.

Her eyes narrowed more, almost closed at this point. "You really want to know? I think you are a bully and that you are too insecure to fall in love."

"You're one to talk," James interjected. "Where is your loved one Lily? From what Liam told me, you don't let anyone close. So why am I the one getting yelled at here for not being ready for love when I paid money to be here? To actually put myself out there and try to find one of the 17 women on this planet for me?"

Lily's eyes went from narrow to wide in a heart beat. "How dare you talk to me about my love life? About something you know nothing about!"

"Not everyone can ignore the fact that the matchmaker extraordinaire can't find a match herself!"

They were both screaming now.

"At least I don't chase after women who try to take advantage of me!"

"At least I am willing to try something with a woman who is interested in me!"

"I put myself out there," she yelled back at him, no longer understanding how they had gotten here. "Don't pretend you know anything! You have no right you self centered, immature…."

He looked down at her and did the only thing he could think of to shut her up. He grabbed her, pulled her flush to him and kissed her.

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He kissed her like a starving man who suddenly finds a bite to eat – without thoughts of the future, just fulfilling the needs of now. And she kissed him back with equal passion, the same hunger.

Sensing that she wasn't about to flee, he rotated them and pushed her up against the wall.

Her hands raced to his hair, massaging his sclp and pulling at the short strands of uncontrollable hair. It was so soft between her fingers. His hand cradled her neck, the other arm wrapped around her waist, keeping her whole body pressed against his.

Their mouths moved furiously against each other, as if their fight, their anger was still happening in the kiss. He bit her lower lip gently, begging for entrance into her mouth, which she welcomed. Tongues danced together aggressively.

James opened his eyes as he kissed her, looking at her long eyelashes painted dark with mascara, her cheeks flushing with heat. He allowed himself this image, memorizing it, before closing his eyes to fully enjoy the moment. James wanted to explore more of her, to kiss her neck, her wrist, the sensitive skin beneath her earlobe, but was afraid it would all end as soon as he left the pillows of her lips.

Lily's head was swimming. It was so good, so wonderful to be held in his strong arms, to be adored with his mouth, his firm hands, to feel his muscular torso pressing her against the wall. It was more intense than it had been in her dreams. It had been so long since she had been held this way, so long since she had even wanted someone to do this to her. And at this moment, she couldn't deny that she had hoped for this from the moment James had sprinted in her office in hot pursuit of a quidditch legend who had never stepped foot in her building. She liked James Potter.

"Fuck," she said pushing him away. It was all rushing back to her. Why liking James Potter was a bad idea. It was too late to stop liking him but not too late to stop feeling more than that. She met his eyes to see shock and disappointment.

"I'm not going to say I'm sorry," he said quickly, closing the space she had created when she pushed him away, taking her face into his hands. "Because I'm not."

"This was not supposed to happen," she said, placing her hands on top of his but not taking them away. She stared into his eyes, pleading for him to understand what she couldn't say. "We can't do this," she said slowly, quietly.

"Why not?"

Now she ripped his hands away. "Because we can't!" She stormed away from him but he grabbed her arm and pulled her back to face him.

"Who says?" he said angry now. "You make the rules. Why can't you change them?"

"Because I don't want to!" she whispered to her shoes, not willing to look into his face.

"Why did you kiss me back then?" He lifted her chin up, forcing her to look into his eyes. He needed her to see how much he wanted her. "Why have we been snogging for the last five minutes? We've been dancing around each other since we met! Pretending there was no spark when I know I felt it the moment I laid eyes on you. This works! Why can't you change the rules for us?"

"BECAUSE I'M SAFER THIS WAY!" She ripped her arm from his grasp and moved to the door, placing her hand on the knob. She turned her head to him, holding back tears. He looked so confused but she just couldn't explain. She couldn't say what she really wanted to right now. "You are going on your date with Lexi tomorrow," she said quietly, dangerously. "You are going to forget this happened…."

"I won't." He interrupted. He crossed to her, stood inches from her, wanting desperately to touch her. But he didn't. "I don't want to forget this, ever."

Lily swallowed hard. "I'm good at my job Mr. Potter. You'll have fun on your stupid date with that bloody gorgeous girl, whether you want to or not."

She opened the door and slammed it in his face before apparating on the spot, not caring to go to the official apparition point. The truth was she didn't want to forget either. She wanted nothing more to be with him and not be so afraid of everything that would mean, everything she would be risking by doing so.

James didn't move from his spot. He didn't run. He didn't apparate. He just stood there. Suddenly, he punched the wall, putting a large crack in the wood and many splinters into his fist.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Sorry for the delay but I hope it was worth it! I sure enjoyed writing it! I thought it was very true to a LJ story where their chemistry and spark makes a fiery argument leading to the moment that the sexual tension comes to a peek. But what did you guys think? Too racy? I can never tell anymore what's too sexy for a T rating. Please advise. **_

_**Originally, Chapter 10 was supposed to all the way to this point… but that would have been triple if not more in length than the other chapters of this story. **_

_**Anyway, what did you think? Worth the wait? Excited to see more? I've given you a bit of a cliff hanger and, not going to lie, still figuring out exactly how I want the next part to play out so let me know who's side/reaction you want to hear? **_

_**Thanks for all the love and support and reviews. I hope to bring some more of the story to you all soon!**_

_**Best Wishes,**_

_**Melissa**_


	14. Ice Cream and Firewhiskey

_**AHHHH so sorry! ****I have actually had this written for a while but didn't have the time to proof and post. On the bright side, chapter 15 and 17 are both written (but 16 is not... don't ask).**_

* * *

><p>With a final tug, Julia secured the white gauze around James' bloody hand. When he had walked through the front door and headed straight for the liquor cabinet, she knew the mixer had not gone well. When he grabbed the firewhiskey, she knew it had been horrible. When she saw his hand bleeding, sure signs that he had punched something hard, she was almost certain that whatever had set him off had to do with the matchmaker herself.<p>

Taking the cue, she moved to grab the med kit and met him on the couch where he extended his right hand to her without a word, his good left gripping the firewhiskey bottle tight.

Only as Julia stored away the rubbing alcohol and spare bandages did Remus emerge from the bedroom. "That bad mate?"

"I kissed her," he said in a monotone.

Julia nodded knowingly as Remus' brows furrowed. "Is that not allowed?"

James ignored him. His lips curved into a sad smile as he met Julia's understanding eyes. "She kissed me back."

"That's a good sign," said Remus, grabbing a glass and filling it with ice. He took the bottle from James and poured a small portion, watching the ice give off smoke at contact with the booze. "I don't normally look so upset after kissing a beautiful woman though, do I Juls?"

"Shut up," Julia snapped, grabbing the glass from Remus' hand and handing it to James. "What happened?"

"She ran," he said shaking his head. He took a sip from the glass and seemed to perk up slightly in response. "Babbled a bunch of nonsense about being safer and then she ran." James felt the sudden need to punch something hard. He took a deep breathe to control the urge. Remus had enough scars on his face from transformations anyway. "Well, I've got a stupid date tomorrow anyway and I'm not going to be able to focus on the dangerous Romanian at all."

"Well, obviously," Remus said wisely. "Sexual frustration ruins everything. Just focus enough to make her like you enough to kiss you again."

"He kissed Lily you idiot!" cried Julia. "Now shut it!"

Remus' eyes went wide and his mouth fell open. "Good for you mate," he muttered quietly, sipping from the bottle himself.

"I'm going to the gym," James said straightening up from his seat on the couch. "Maybe the practice pitch. Julia, can you do me a favor?"

She nodded looking hopeful. At the sight, James beamed, coming back to himself. "Punch Sirius in the jaw and then tell him thanks for me. I don't think I would have kissed her if it weren't for that loon pissing her off."

Remus laughed. "I'm sure he will have been happy to help."

Julia just smirked at them both, two of the most wonderful men in her world. "I will never understand the male species."

With that, James grabbed his gym bag and left, thinking he'd use the time to brainstorm the worst date ever... Which of coarse afforded the date in question few opportunities to poison and hex him. And he could pull double duty at the gym... He could punch things with gloves on. Much less chance of bloody knuckles.

* * *

><p>Beth woke late Sunday afternoon around 1. She stretched languidly in bed, then curled into the warm covers, grabbing the note Amos had left on his abandoned pillow before he left to watch a local quidditch game with his mates.<p>

Slowly willing herself to get up and moving, she dragged herself into the kitchen and then sighed at the sight. Lily was solidly positioned at the counter with a half empty quart of Rocky Road.

"Dessert for breakfast Lil?" Beth asked smiling. "That's more my style."

Beth didn't have to ask what inspired the binge-fest but Lily told her anyway while extending a spoon of friendship. "They're on their stupid date by this time aren't they?"

Beth took a new spoon out of the drawer and slid onto the stool beside Lily. "According to experts Ben and Jerry, they've been on their date for about a third of a gallon of ice cream. Want to talk about why you're so upset your client is out with his selected lady?"

"You know why," she said, shoving a very large spoonful of ice cream into her mouth. After apparating home the previous day, Lily had given a very loud, very angry recap of the moment before slamming the door of her room and crying to the saddest music she owned.

"I don't know what to tell you Lils other than I'm sure he wishes he were with you over sexy Lexi."

Lily huffed into her ice cream. "She is sexy isn't she? How can anyone compete with that? I'm not sexy. I can't pull sexy. He's better off. I'm better off not competing with that... I can't pull off sexy can I?"

Beth grabbed the mouth bound spoon in Lily's hand. "You are the sexiest girl I've ever met."

Lily smiled. While she didn't believe her, not a bit, she appreciated a well timed lie. "You just want more of my ice cream for yourself." Lily swept the carton towards herself. "Get your own lady."

"Well, a sexy lady like you is not going to sit here all day eating ice cream. We're going shopping."

"Not after eating all this I'm not. I probably gained 10 pounds in the last hour."

"Shut up crazy," said Beth yanking the carton away and tossing it unceremoniously into the freezer. "Diagon Alley. Fifteen minutes. GO!" Lily glared at her. "Twenty is all you get before I drag you out in your snitch underwear."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Hello readers!<strong>_

_**Know this was short but wanted to give you guys a break from the long chapters and go back to the way we began - short, sweet, and posted regularly. No promises about the last of that list but I will genuinely try.**_

_**So, as usual, give me your thoughts, your feelings, what you want to see/read next!**_

_**Best,**_

_**Melissa**_


	15. 530 Stairs

James finished off his third slice of pizza, licking his fingers of grease. He looked across the table to see his date carefully (and slowly) slicing her first slice of pizza into small pieces, very occasionally lifting a sliver to her mouth.

"Don't you like pizza Lexi?"

She smiled brightly at him, grateful for a break in the silence. "I love Italian. That country sure knew how to... cook carbs."

James smirked happily thinking of all you can eat burrito night, another great carb country. He whipped out another water bottle, breaking the seal and taking a long gulp before immediately tossing it into the trash.

Lexi's eyes narrowed. "You're never going to forget about the amortentia are you?"

James shook his head back and forth, keep his eyes on her. "I'm an auror. It's my job to have constant vigilance."

"So I've noticed," Lexi mumbled under her breath.

James smiled at her dejected look. He almost took pity… but decided against it. "So are you ready for the rest of the tour of muggle London?"

Her smile faltered as she looked down at her five inch heel clad feet. She was already sporting some pretty impressive blisters and it was only two o'clock. The day had started alright. They had walked along the water, taking in to London Eye and stopping by The Globe. By then it was almost noon. Her mind had moved to visions of a classy restaurant in the heart of rich London where she could inspire him with her good manners; prove she was ready for the famed Potter dinner parties. But instead, they had walked to St. Paul's... and climbed the 530 stairs to the top... in five inch heels.

Being so high up gave her the opportunity to pretend to be afraid of heights and cling to James. But too soon, James was bored of the view (and truly bored with her faked whimpering) and wanted to grab some food. At first, it was the best thing she had heard all day. She all but ran down the 530 steps. So, she wasn't thrilled after when he steered them towards the dicey looking pizza shop three blocks away.

She gazed back up from her shoes, big smile back in place. She'd follow him anywhere. He'd be worth his weight in gold if he would marry her. And from the stories, he'd be plenty of fun in bed before the divorce.

"What did you have in mind? I heard they have beautiful boat rides available a few blocks from here."

James smile grew wider. Torture was such fun. "I was thinking we could swing by London Dungeons. Then maybe go to the Doctor Who exhibit. Then finish off with a trip up to Camden market for fish and chips."

She laughed and pushed her plate away. "No, really James. What next?"

"Um... London Dungeons, then Doctor Who, then Camden."

_'Screw it.'_ "Oh darn," she said suddenly standing up, the full effect of the tight blouse and skirt combo revealed behind the booth table. "I forgot it's my mother's best friend's brother's birthday party this afternoon and I said I'd pick up the cake. I'm so sorry I'll have to miss all... that." She swung towards James and dropped a heavy kiss on his lips, trying desperately to slip in some tongue. He didn't permit it. She leaned back with a smile. "But call me again sometime James? I'm always up for an adventure!"

"Will do." James said, not even standing from his seat. He watched her run out the door, feeling very pleased with the mental image of the Spanish bulls high at her very high heels. _'She'd never make it through the running of the bulls.'_

He pulled himself out of his seat and made for the register to pay, thinking about sprinting from the bulls himself with a rather speedy red hair at his side.

_**Sorry for the delay all. I've actually had this written for a long time but just never got around to editing it (plus, I'm not a huge fan of it. I just wanted to get the date over with… much like James). **_

_**ANYWAY, on the bright side, I have figured out a very exciting way to turn this. We'll be slipping away from the matchmaker thing slightly as the story shifts to be more adventurous. But you'll just have to wait and see (and don't worry, the wait won't be too long before things heat up both with the action and the romance). **_

_**I know this chapter was terribly short and somewhat boring but stick with me. Much more and better to come!**_

_**Best,**_

_**Mel**_


	16. Glitz and Glamour

She was never comfortable in this place and the ache in her feet from the shoes Beth made her buy was not helpful. After a day in the shops, Lily quietly slipped out of the apartment while her roommate was in the shower. Before leaving, however, she had changed from her normal attire to one suited for the occasion.

She looked expensive. Her best ivy robe set skimming loosely over her figure, diamonds sparkling at her ears and wrist. She looked like a trophy in many ways, something one would want to possess. Heavy shadow swept across her lids, this was not a look Lily wore often or particularly liked but it was necessary for the task.

She look a dainty sip from her wine glass and cast a bored look around the room. Her eyes sparkled slightly for a moment as the door opened and revealed...

"Lily!"

"Lucius," she called back enticingly. "What a happy coincidence to run into you here!"

He crossed to where she sat the bar. Grabbing her hands possessively, he kissed both of her cheeks. "The pleasure is mine my dear. And what brings you to the glitz and glamour of Klein's."

Glitz and glamour was right. Everything in the restaurant called out its cost and exclusivity from the glittering chandeliers to the high polish of the candle sticks.

"I've been stood up by a prospective client unfortunately," Lily responded with a smile, her eyes glued to Malfoy's.

"What a fool!" he said, still grasping Lily's hands in his. "You mustn't sit at the bar on your own, looking as lovely as you do. It would be a waste. Join me in my booth."

It was not a request. Lily smiled widely. "I would love to." She rose gracefully from her chair, making sure to move with a lazy ease around this dangerous man. She took his offered arm and let him guide her to the back room, towards his reserved section.

"So who is this fool who left such a beautiful woman waiting?"

Lily's laughed echoed like a bell in the darken room. "You know I don't reveal my clients Lucius. You of all people should know."

He smiled and unlinked his arm from Lily's, wrapping it instead around her waist. "You must swing by and say hello to the new Mrs. Malfoy soon."

"Yes, I must." Lily was all too aware of the hand rubbing up and down her side. She swallowed her revulsion. "And how is Narcissa?"

Lucius smiled broadly. "Brilliant. We're trying for a son."

Lily slipped out of his grip to instead clasp his hands, a huge smile lighting up her freckled face. "That's wonderful!" She released him and took a step away, trying not to sigh at achieving the much desired personal space.

Lucius beamed. "I'm sure she'd make you godmother when the time comes if not for her sister Bellatrix. Believe me when I say she'd kill for the title."

Lily smiled gently while her insides turned nervous. "Oh family can be that way." She decided to push it. Lily slid into the booth and said. "But I doubt anyone related to your wife could be capable of harming a fly."

Lucius's eyes darken slightly and shook his head. "Bella has hurt her share of... flies."

Lily took a mental note. Was it her or was there a certain amount of fear there? With Malfoy nearly the dark lord's right hand man, not many could bring that tone out of him.

Lily leaned forward, resting her head in her hands, elbows propped on the table. "I'm always so impressed by the stories you tell of your friends and acquaintances. They always seem to have so much..." she held his eyes. "Power."

Lucius let his eyes fly over Lily's beautiful face. "Are you... attracted to... drawn to powerful individuals?"

Knowing she was close, very close, but walking a very tight rope, Lily nodded seriously but kept her voice light. "Oh yes. I find true power, in all ways, hard to resist."

Just then a hardy laugh was heard at the door. "Lucius!" boomed a shadowed figure in delight.

Lucius leapt to his feet with a broad smile. "Marcus!" He strode over and gave the man a firm handshake, a hard pat on the back and led him over.

Lily put a warm smiled on her face while her stomach formed another knot. Marc Solomon was a hulk of a man standing over 6' 5" and built with more muscle than an ox. He smiled greedily at her as he approached.

"Marc, you remember Lily? She was at the wedding."

"With all that fire on top of a gilded face, how could one forget?" Marcus said in an attempt at a seductive tone. He took Lily's offer handshake and lifted her knuckles to his lips. "A pleasure to see you again Miss Evans."

"And you Marc," Lily replied with an effort to keep her warm demeanor. While Marc had not been the shadiest person she encountered at the Malfoy wedding, he was one she had avoided dancing with. She knew her own limits. Without a wind at the ready, she wouldn't be able to fight this giant of a man in line if he chose to overstep limits.

Both men slid into the booth, effectively eliminating any route of escape for Lily if needed. Lily cursed her luck. She had been so close with Malfoy. It would be more difficult with two people there.

Or maybe not. "How goes your pet project Marc?" asked Lucius, swirling his wine.

"Ah, wet. It's been raining all week so we've been unable to execute but forecast is good for Tuesday. We should..." Marc's eyes flashed to Lily briefly who, by all appearances, was making a thorough examination of her manicure. "We should be able to strike by the Town Hall around dawn."

Lucius beamed. "Excellent. Lily, Marc is a business partner of mine if you remember. One of the best." he looked over at Lily who was still very intent upon her nails. "Lily?"

"Huh?" she looked up and met his icy eyes. "Oh, I'm sorry! Got lost in my cuticles again. What did I miss?"

Lucius opened his mouth to answer but was cut off. "Nothing at all," said Marc with a smile so wide, it made Lily nervous.

Lily pushed on, "Oh I do hope you don't think I find your company unenjoyable. My brain just turns off around talk of business."

Marc guffawed. "A useful trait in a woman."

"It just fun to watch powerful men talk. As I was saying to Lucious before you arrived Marc," Lily let her eyelids fall to a seductive half open stare. "I find power very... intoxicating."

Lucius sat pleasantly stunned by her. Was the conversation sexual, as he somewhat hoped, or was this about... something even more important. "I could introduce you to some of our... powerful friends. We're gathering at Parovitch's next week. You remember him?"

'_Jackpot_,' Lily thought. "Of course, he was one of your groomsmen."

"Your memory is perfect as ever."

Lily's eyes gleamed. "That's part of my job." she smiled.

Lily spent another 10 minutes finishing her drink before excusing herself for the night, full of promises to visit Narcissa and to consider joining the ... "party" a Parovitch's. Her attendance, however, would Lily be decided by the man pulling the strings: Dumbledore.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Sorry for falling off the face of the earth. I wasn't happy with how this was shaping out but the cogs in my brain are starting to turn again with some great plot plans.<strong>_

_**Don't give up on me quite yet! **_

_**Best,**_

_**Melissa**_


	17. The Flame

With swirl of smoke, the marauders appeared in the grate of The Three Broomsticks fireplace. Peter struggled to quit his coughing as they all made their way to the bar. The young woman behind the counter, only just 18, smiled like a child on Christmas morning.

"Well if it ain't my four favorite customers? What will it be tonight boys?"

"A round of fire whiskey shots Rosie to start," said Sirius flirtatiously. "We're only in for a moment." Rosmerta pouted slightly into his handsome face. "Don't worry my girl. We'll be back. Just a few errands to run."

"Coming right up then gentlemen," she said, dashing off to grab the glasses.

Remus beamed. "Gotta love a girl who doesn't ask many questions." Peter laughed.

James, however, remained silent, his eyes sweeping the restaurant. He jumped slightly when Sirius's hand came down onto his shoulder.

"What's up mate? You've been jumpy all day since you got back from that date," said Sirius, not fully able to keep the sincere worry from his voice.

Shaking his head, James responded quietly, "I'm fine. Just stressed I guess. Want to get to the meeting… and then to the office. Need to get an update on Liverpool. I feel terrible not being on site."

"You're team is good James," said Peter, accepting his drink from Rosmerta. "They would have owled if something were wrong."

"Plus Moody will be in tonight," continued Remus, attempting to cool his friend. "He'll have an update for you if anything happened."

"I guess you're right," James said. "I guess I've just… got a lot on my mind today."

Sirius let out a booming laugh. "You'd be a lot more relaxed if you had taken a ride on that Romanian you took out instead of scaring her off with Camden."

James looked affronted "What's wrong with Camden? The market has great food and some hidden magical gems." But then he broke out into a smile. "Thank god that girl is gone."

"Cleared the way for Lily now," said Remus with a grimace, placing down his empty glass.

James copied his friend and downed his glass in one as well, unwilling to meet anyone's eyes at that question.

Peter glanced at his pocket watch. "We should get moving fellas."

Wrapping up tighter into their cloaks, the men headed from the warmth of the pub towards the train station. The scarlet steam engine was still on the tracks, no telltale signs of smoke from the engine, but the boys knew the inside to be warm and welcoming… and filled with their friends. James stepped forward to perform the entrance sequence, tapping a unique pattern on the bolts of the door of the third car. Following a slight glow, James stepped through the apparently solid door with the same ease as one stepped through the wall marking platform 9 and ¾. His friends followed shortly behind.

Walking two more cars away from the front, the boys found themselves in a lightly lit room almost full with their fellow order members.

"Ah, gentlemen," called Dumbledore gently. "Was almost afraid Rosmerta had talked you into a drink too many."

"She could have Sir," said Sirius good naturedly, taking a seat besides Gideon Prewitt.

Gideon, a fellow auror, nodded at James as he took his seat by Moody. "Any word from my team today Alastor?" whispered James quietly.

"Nothing observed as of the report an hour ago," Moody said less quietly. "You heading out…?"

"Tomorrow morning, first thing sir."

"Good."

The group waited in quiet conversation for five more minutes as the last of their planned number arrived. As Caradoc Dearborn took his seat, Dumbledore stood from his.

"Thank you all once again for making the time and taking the risk to join us tonight. We have much to discuss and…."

Just then, a very small owl flew through the small gap in the door. It flew directly for Dumbledore, landing easily on his outstretched arm.

"Ah, perfect timing my dear," he said quietly, petting the bird gently before disconnecting the paper and settling the bird on a luggage stand to his left. "My friends, one of our valued insiders has news. If I may read her message…"

The letter held beautiful handwriting in a soft blue color.

_Silver dragon meeting successful. Insider mention of strike on "Town Hall" planned for Tuesday when weather improves – assume relation to either Liverpool or Cardiff activity. Also acquired invitation to Parovitch party – suggest attendance for observation and information gathering._

_- The Flame_

"Liverpool…" said James aloud as Gideon cried "Cardiff!"

"Yes gentlemen, I would assume that one of your two stations has an attack in store in two days. Both have been suffering terrible weather of recent date if I am not mistaken."

Dumbledore looked at James' outstretched hand and passed him the parchment.

He then turned to face his trusted friend. "Alastor, how does your staffing look to date?"

"A bit touch and go to be honest. A lot of men injured and asking for leave... the fools," he grumbled.

Dumbledore scanned the room. "Then we shall assist how we can in this instance. I ask if all who are available this coming Tuesday find yourself dining to shopping in the vicinity of the Liverpool or Cardiff town halls… as discreetly as possible of course."

The room nodded as one. "I will let the managing aurors of each project split the group and assign locations. If you will excuse me, I must step out to respond to our informative friend and see if I can enlist any more support for Tuesday."

Dumbledore extended his hand to James who seemed transfixed. He knew this penmanship… but from where? "Mr. Potter? If I may."

James's eyes snapped up. "Of course sir." He handed the paper over before looking to Gideon. "Shall we?"

* * *

><p><strong><em>I would like to say this chapter would not have happened without you. I had a stream of pleas for this story to continue and just a regular set of people setting up favorites or follows for this story. Thank you for sticking with me. Hopefully, the inspiration to write will remain and you will get another chapter soon. I have an idea I really like for the next two chapters so we'll see how long I let it sit in my brain for.<em>**

**_As I mentioned, I wouldn't have the will to keep writing without you so please continue to review and let me know your thoughts._**

**_Best Wishes,_**

**_Melissa_**


	18. Follow Up Calls

_Care to do a bit of shopping in Cardiff Tuesday? Party invitation decision is unsure. Do you think you could bring a plus one?__  
><em>_- AD_

Lily read the note for what felt like the 10,000th time. Seated in her office, she could hardly believe he had finally asked her for ground support. Dumbledore was the one to suggest her discreet role in the first place. Was she finally going to see some action? Or did he want her in Cardiff under cover? That was doable.

"Earth to Lily!" rang Jonathan's voice from her door.

Lily looked up with a smile, sliding the note into her self-locking drawer in a swift move. "Sorry my darling. What?"

"It's Monday."

Lily nodded slowly. "Yes... I know."

"So it's follow up day."

"Oh Merlin," she cried, letting her head drop to the table. "Can't Beth do this one?"

"Already asked. She said no."

"Well, I'm the boss. I say she's fired."

Jonathan approached her slowly. "Lily. You always do the calls. No one does them better."

She lifted her head off the desk, her once neatly twisted hair now a little wild in its clip. With eyes glaring she said, "Flattery won't work today." She pulled the phone over. "But it helps. Let's start with Theresa. Can you grab her file for me?"

"Already here," said Jonathan handing them over.

"See, this is why you're not fired." Lily smiled weakly and dialed the girl's number.

After a few rings, Lily heard a chipper "Hello?"

Lily shifted the phone to speaker. "Hi Theresa. Lily Evans!"

"Oh my! Hi!" The girl responded happily.

"You sound happy," inquired Lily gently. "How did it go?"

"It started off a little bumpy since he suggested meeting at the gym..."

Lily muted the phone. "I will kill that man."

"But it ended up being great," continued Theresa. "He had his personal trainer give me a quick kick boxing lesson and I've actually been doing kick boxing classes the past few years so it was a lot of fun. We ended up fighting a little and I actually got a few hits in. Think he was going easy on me. Then we grabbed a really nice brunch at Le Marca and spent the afternoon on a boat. Really was a beautiful day."

Lily's eyes sparked with excitement as she pulled herself off mute. "So you will be seeing each other again?"

The girl giggled. "We have dinner plans for tomorrow actually."

"Amazing! So you like him?"

"He has some rough edges," Lily nodded at the phone. "But when he tried to force me to eat sushi and I said no... After the fourth time he listened. At least he listened. He doesn't seem like the kind of guy used to hearing no but... Maybe he can start."

"You're a smart girl Theresa. Make sure he treats you right."

"Oh I will. Grew up with four brothers. I know how to stand my ground."

"So happy to hear it. Best of luck!"

"Thanks Lily!"

As she disconnected the line, Jonathan said, "Well that was a good start!"

"Let's check with Enrique real quick," said Lily, already grabbing the file and dialing.

The call with Enrique was as expected; full of praise for Theresa, praise for Lily's services, praise for his own charms. Lily disconnected satisfied and made a note to check Enrique's files in three weeks to see if it had turned official.

Note completed, she turned to glare at the phone. Quietly she said, "Lexi's file please."

Jonathan handed it over without a word. Lily let the folder fall open and allowed herself a moment to glance at the woman's beautiful photo. With a deep breath, she dialed the number and picked up the receiver. She needed to hear this one on one.

"Hello," came a sultry alto from the other end.

"Hello Lexi. It's Lily!"

"Oh Lily darling, I cannot thank you enough."

Jonathan watched Lily's eyes drop as she quickly shielded her eyes.

"So it went well!" Lily cried with faked enthusiasm.

"Oh yes. We are a wonderful match. We went on a wonderful adventure all around muggle London and just had a splendid time in each other's company."

Lily took another deep breath and forced a smile to her face to keep her tone chipper. "So you're going to see Ja... Mr. Potter again?"

"Oh I do think so."

Lily let her hand drop and made eye contact with Jonathan. "But nothing is set yet?"

"No not yet but you know auror schedules - hard to find time."

Lily bit her lip gently before responding. "Yes... Well... I'm so glad to hear it ... Worked out so well. Please let me know how it all fairs out!"

"Oh I will. Thank you again Lily!"

Lily hung up the phone without saying goodbye and shielded her eyes from her friend again. He approached her and laid a hand on her back gently. She sprang out of her seat and started pacing the office.

"How can a man kiss a girl like the world is about to end and then show a different girl the date of her life?"

Jonathan took Lily's seat and watched her pace. "You didn't give him much of a choice did you?"

She rounded on him angrily. "What?"

"You told him to go."

"Yes, but..."

"And to have a great time," he continued.

"Yes, but..."

"And made it outstandingly clear that you are not interested."

Lily's eyes filled with tears and she set herself on her couch. After a few moments she said, "I guess it is for the best."

Jonathan shook his head. "I wouldn't go that far. I don't see why you couldn't have at least given him a chance. He's not Simon, Lils. He won't…"

"Just stop Jonathan. Please." He fell silent. Lily sighed and picked up the phone beside her. She didn't need a file - she knew his number already, a fact that bugged her immensely.

As it rang, Lily felt worse and worse. Jonathan looked on concerned. But then Lily heard the magical sound of a voice mail box.

_"Hello, you've reached the line of James Potter. I am not available at the moment but please leave a message after the tone."_

**BEEP**

"Um... Hello James... Mr. Potter. It's Lil... Ms. Evans... Uhhem... I just spoke with Lexi who said she had a fantastic time so congratulations. You should receive your bill in ... two to three business days. Best of luck..."

Lily made eye contact with Jonathan, unable to hang up the phone.

"... And I truly wish you the best. And I ... I'm so sorry."

She quickly swept down the receiver. It was over - time to move on. It was for the best. If she avoided Finnigan's, she'd likely never need to speak to the fool again.

Suddenly her line rang. Her eyes sprang to Jonathan who nodded and answered. "Magical Matchmaking. Jonathan speaking, how may I help you?"

There was a pause and Jonathan's eyes flickered to Lily who watched him like a hawk. "Um... I'm sorry sir but she is unavailable at this ... Okay, please hold."

He placed the line on hold and looked to his friend and boss. "It's him."

Lily nodded. "So I guessed."

"So, what's the verdict?"

Lily stood and walked to her desk, took a seat behind and closed her eyes. "Jonathan, I think I'm going to take this alone. You've been... wonderful I just..."

"I understand," Jonathan replied. "I'll be in the lobby."

He closed the door gently leaving her to her own devices.

Lily glared at the ivory receiver. _'Professional, I can be professional,'_ she thought bracing herself.

She picked up. "Hello this is..."

"She could never run with the bulls."

Lily's heart stopped. "What?"

"I would never have a second date with that woman because she could never run with the bulls. I didn't even want the first."

"Mr. Potter," Lily sighed.

"We walked for miles around the city - the girl wearing heels high as the sky. She would barely touch a single slice of pizza. She could never do all you can eat burrito night and she could never run with the bulls." James almost sounded desperate. "But you could. We'd have laughed at London Dungeons and seen a show at the Globe. We'd have finished off a large pizza together and then grabbed ice cream."

"James stop..." Lily said weakly.

"No, because I never should have let you run on Saturday," he said, his voice soft. "I couldn't pick any girls at that mixer because I already knew the one I wanted was you." And then the line was quiet… for a long time. "Lily... Are you still there?"

Lily removed the clip from her hair, the better the run her fingers through. Wasn't this what she dreamt of and hoped for? And also what she dreaded? "But Lexi said..."

"Lexi is the psycho who put love potion in my wine. I spent the whole day trying to scare her away with fun... something she is apparently allergic to. Very dangerous, very lethal. So for her health, she should probably stay away from me."

Lily let out a dry laugh. "She expects another date."

"But two people get to make that decision. I don't want her, I want you!"

"Well we've already discussed the impossibility of that option."

"No we haven't!" James said gently. He paced his temporary flat in Liverpool. "Why don't you feel safe Lily? I... I don't understand. Please help me understand. We can work. I know we can."

Lily pushed her palms into her eyes. "I'm sorry your date with Lexi did not work out Mr. Potter."

"Lily..."

"If you are interested in trying again, I would be happy to refer you to another service."

James collapsed on to his bed in exhaustion. "Unless the next mixer has you in it, it won't work."

"Please let me go," Lily said sadly, gently. "Please." She ran her hand hard through her hair, pressing hard on her skull, literally trying to hold herself together. She wanted to fold so badly - to tell him how damaged she was because of another man. But... she couldn't. It was too personal - too close - too much to tell.

James sighed in defeat. He couldn't take that tone from her. "Okay... for now. I won't push you but I won't let go completely. We will run together eventually Lily."

"I wish that were true," she said, barely audible. "Good bye Mr. Potter."

As James carefully avoided punching something again, Lily reached into her desk and pulled out the emergency chocolate.

* * *

><p><strong>So how do you think that? Two chapters in two days! Like I said, I had a stroke of inspiration. Plus your wonderful reaction to the return of this story was so wonderfully flattering I couldn't let you down. <strong>

**The next chapter will definitely not come as quickly but I have a clear picture of where we're going from here. **

**So what do you think? Keep the reviews coming.**

**Best,**

**Melissa**


	19. Stakeout

Sirius always liked Cardiff. The streets were quieter here which made the roar of his motorcycle more attention grabbing. He caught many female eyes as he rolled into the main square. And many female mouths dropped as he removed his helmet and let his luscious black hair fall perfectly across his chiseled jaw line.

_'Ah fresh meat,'_ he thought to himself. He brushed off his well-worn leather jacket and glanced around.

The main square housing the Cardiff town hall also homed a number of high price clothing stores and classy cafes. Sirius selected a cafe with an outdoor seating area where a leggy blonde in big sunglasses sat alone with a few bags of shopping. The cafe was crowded enough for strategy 27 to work like a charm.

"I'm sorry ma'am, is this seat taken? I'm afraid it's rather crowded here today."

The woman looked up at him and paused. Not quite the pause he was looking for though. He was used to a bright smile or flirtatious smirk. This woman almost glared. After a few beats and a quick glance around to confirm all other tables occupied, she nodded jerkily at the seat.

Sirius sat himself down gracefully, glancing quickly at the town hall across the street before returning his gaze to the woman across from him. Her hair was down and curled, blowing gently in the breeze. She wore snug fitting black pants slipped neatly into leather black boots. The air was crisp but her black trench coat seemed warm, the emerald and gold scarf, expensive.

Glancing down at her book, he smiled. "Is that any good? I haven't read much of him."

The woman looked up at him, this time smiling. "Charles Dickens? Really?"

"Yes, is he any good?"

The woman laughed heartily. She had a lovely laugh, if a bit strong. It took a moment for Sirius to realize she was laughing AT him.

"You really stick out like a sore thumb in the muggle world Sirius. Never hit on a muggle or you'll give the whole wizarding world away with lines like that."

His mouth dropped. "Agatha?"

She laughed again. "Nope and I wouldn't keep guessing if I were you. No need to name all the members where sensitive ears can hear. Plus you wouldn't guess anyway."

Sirius frowned. "Wanna bet?"

The blonde shrugged. "Not particularly." She casually looked across the street, seemingly people watching but keeping a sharp eye on the targeted building. "You're a little late you know."

"And you're a little mysterious. Just tell me who you are and how you know about the mission."

"For god's sake, keep your voice down," snapped the blonde, removing her sunglasses to reveal bright green eyes. "It's like you want someone to hear you."

"Wait..." Sirius said, gazing at her now exposed face.

Lily raised an eye brow. "Does the blonde thing really throw you off that hard?"

Sirius still wasn't sure. How could she...

"You make a better ginger."

"I would have to agree," said Lily, pushing the sunglasses on top of her head before putting down her book and picking up her tea. "So now, what can I do for you sir?"

"You're..."

"Yes."

"Are you the... "

"Flame, yes."

Sirius started laughing hard. "No wonder."

Lily frowned. "No wonder what."

"Prongs was so sure he knew that hand writing."

Lily took an uncomfortable sip of her tea. She was hoping they could last more than 5 minutes before James became part of the conversation.

"But surprise, surprise huh?" said Sirius, still smiling. Lily braced for a lecture on James. She was taken by surprise when he deviated from expectations. "So are you any good? Defense wise?"

"What?"

"Well it seems we're accidentally paired for this assignment now. I need to know if I've got to carry the weight of this team or not," he smirked, knowing this next bit was just asking for it. "Not much spell work in match making after all."

Lily rolled her eyes. "You dodge a fair amount of curses in my industry believe it or not. And yeah, my defense is okay." Sirius stared her down. "Okay my defense is excellent. O on my NEWTS. Dueling club instructor. 6 months of auror training."

Sirius nodded, trying not to be impressed. "So you're in the order?"

Lily rolled her eyes. "If you're going to discuss confidential information, at least use protection." She discreetly tapped the table with her concealed wand casting a muffliato charm before answering. "Yes, I'm in the order and here on Dumbledore's request for extra assistance. I understand our numbers don't yet support the ability to cover two metropolises too comfortably."

"Not yet unfortunately," nodded Sirius solemnly.

Lily laughed, startling Sirius. Still smiling she said, "Stop looking glum. People don't look so serious when they're chatting up women at cafes. My god you're horrible at this."

Sirius gasped insulted. "I am wonderful at chatting up women in cafes."

"But horrible at undercover stakeouts!" responded Lily. "My goodness, make yourself useful and get a round of tea."

Sirius jumped up, happy for an excuse to leave and return. "Watch my bike will you?"

She nodded and returned to her book. Sirius entered the shop and quickly darted into the single stall bathroom, ripping his mirror from his pocket. "Prongs! You're not going to believe this!"

After a moment, his messy haired mate appeared. "This better be important mate. This could..." And James froze, his eyes transfixed to the left. "Contact Moody. They're here. It's Liverpool." And the connection was broken.

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><p><strong>I hope you enjoyed this last chapter! I was actually planning to combine this with the next chapter but had a few reviewers eager for another post after I spoiled you with back to back chapters.<strong>

**I know a lot of you are impatient about Lily's issues with Simon. Don't worry – you will find out soon enough – within the next 3 chapters at this rate.**

**Thank you as always for your support. Your reviews, favorites and follows are what inspire me to keep writing so keep them coming!**

**Best Wishes,**

**Melissa **


	20. Meanwhile, In Liverpool

_**Welcome back! Sorry for the delay but I got a few complaints about chapters being too short so I wanted to try to build this chapter out a little bit and then work and life happened and insert other typical excuse here. Please forgive – action is always difficult to write for me as I'm a dialogue person more than an action person so that also contributed. **_

_**Also, executive decision, the rating is going back to T as I feel that I'm writing at about the same age level as one would need to be to watch How I Met Your Mother. If it gets too sexy or violent in the future, we will switch back to M. **_

_**All that business aside, enjoy and review!**_

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><p>James had taken the gull position for his team, disillusioned and hovering high above the Liverpool town hall and nearby docks below. If they were to approach by broom, James had the best position to spot them.<p>

His prep team had done well setting up defenses around the hall, anti-apparition charmed 200 meters around the space. Knowing Remus was nearby on the ground was also a huge comfort - while the Death Eaters could weasel their way into the auror department, he felt that the chances of them finding their way into the marauder camp was much less likely. Plus, Remus's stunners were always remarkably accurate.

The air was chilly up above and noise level almost zero. To stay sharp, James pulled a few figure eights. He was working hard to remain focused on the task at hand. The call with Lily was still driving him mental.

Remus was next to no help. 'She says she has her reasons James. You're going to have to trust her,' he'd said.

But James knew this was different. She was it. She was the snitch - she ended the game for him. She was the most valuable prize to be had on the field and he would be damned if he let her flutter away without a proper fight. Especially after having grazed her wings...that kiss...

"Oi!" called Remus into his earpiece, a handy little device they had invented for chatting across separate detentions in sixth year. "Don't fall off your broom up there Prongs. Any sign?"

After a quick scan, James replied. "Nothing… how did you know I was doing my eights? I'm basically invisible up here Moony."

"Almost that time friend. Eyesight is super sensitive," Remus said. "Plus, you had that broody look on your face after you finished our pre-brief."

"I am not broody!" cried James, very much tempted to turn down his ear piece. "I'm going to cast a wider net now though, make sure they're not coming from land-side. Tell Bones to keep sharp on the water while I swing round."

"Aye aye captain," Remus called in response.

James coaxed his broom into a slightly quicker pace and looped in towards the nearby shopping center. The muggles were shopping happily, unaware of the wizards disguised expertly among them and above them. The auror department had started regulating dress code for muggle adjacent operations to improve blending with the non-robe wearing muggle fashion after Benjy had worn a flowery dress in Manchester and blown their cover due to the attention he garnered.

James slowed suddenly, spotting a hooded figure emerging from an alley. James began to hover lower - the weather, while cold, was too sunny for a hood.

Just then, his name cried out from his pocket. "Prongs!" cried Sirius's voice. Without moving his eyes from the figure, James removed the mirror from within his warm robes.

His eyes slide quickly to the mirror to confirm the sight of his friend's face. It was clear no action had started in Cardiff by the easy smile on his friends face. James looked back at the hooded figure while he spoke.

"This better be important mate. This could..." And James froze, his eyes transfixed to the alley where the first hooded figure had appeared. Suddenly a line of 5... 10... 25 hooded figures appeared and turned towards the city center. "Contact Moody," he said quietly to Sirius, then used his free hand to re-activate his link to Remus. "They're here. It's Liverpool."

James quickly banished the mirror to his hotel room and withdrew his wand. "Where?" cried Remus in his earpiece. He could faintly hair Moony's running footsteps as he hurtled towards their nearest compatriot auror.

"They're coming in from the south-east side, shopping mall - about 25 to 30 figures by my eye. That puts us to about one to three so we need to scatter them and hope backup comes soon." James zoomed over to fly directly above the lead hooded figure. "They're in full regalia it seems. Remus, direct order members to defensive positions around the hall. I'll direct the aurors to the front lines and call you in if backup is needed. I want to keep them from view of the hall if possible."

"You got it," Remus replied. "It's time. Hall positions mates." James heard Remus directing faintly as both lowered the volume on their ear pieces.

Casting a quick patronus, James directed his doe to alert aurors to battle positions at the north and west exits of the shopping center and for Marty Bones to have the office alerted and the obliviation team on standby. For better or worse, there was no avoiding muggle eyes on this one.

He watched as the doe ran soundlessly and quickly across to the dock and almost felt like he could hear the sound of Marty disapparating. Taking a risk, James lowered himself to be only 10 feet above the lead figure allowing himself to drift in front of him slightly. Sure enough, there was the mask in plain view. The muggles hardly seemed to notice.

Flying half a block ahead, James cast a quick muggle repelling charm – a personal favorite that smelt of dung bombs, a nostalgic smell from many a second year prank. With the street mostly clear, he landed soundlessly and tossed the broom to the side.

The first man turned the corner, his wand already drawn but James was even more prepared. A non-verbal stupefy flew directly into the man's chest. He collapsed with a light thump. And then the storming footsteps began. James felt rather than saw his 4 support aurors appear behind him.

"Ready mates?" He asked with fake cheer.

"Always," said Gideon with an equal but real enthusiasm.

And then the group rounded the corner and the fighting began.

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><p>Sirius dashed out of the cafe at top speed and sprinted for the town hall.<p>

"HEY!" cried Lily, jumping from her seat, abandoning her tea and shopping. Sirius did not slow and Lily quickly shot off after him. "Did something happen?"

Sirius ripped open the door of the hall and called out to the aurors, order members and muggles alike, "It's Liverpool." He turned on the spot and began sprinting back towards the shops.

As he passed Lily, she grabbed his arm. "Come with me."

And then she was off, this time Sirius behind her attempting to keep pace.

Lily stopped at their original table and starting rooting through her shopping.

"Lily, while I have an appreciation for fashion, I hardly think now is the time."

"Rule 82 of dating Mr. Black." She pulled out a sparkling high heel and forced it into his hand, keeping her own hand on top. He looked up into her emerald eyes in confusion as she smirked and said, "Always have an exit strategy." They both felt the familiar tug of the portkey and Sirius let out one barking laugh that echoed around the calm and, for now, safe town.

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><p>The scene was chaos. Four against 25 wasn't much of a fair fight. Thanks to their element of surprise, the first seven went down stunned in moments but from there, James and his team were definitely struggling sans back up.<p>

Gideon was fighting three and had dodged at least 10 killing curses. Indra had gotten hit with something non-fatal but was still on the ground. Alfred was fighting about four himself and James... was running. About 10 death eaters hot on his tail, he led them through the maze of shops, throwing spells behind him and ducking behind sale signs and bins when possible to breathe.

Suddenly, there was commotion in the shop next to him. While the muggles had previously been glued to the windows, they now turned and scattered in panic.

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><p>Sirius and Lily landed in Marcos' dress emporium's back room with barely a stumble. In seconds, Lily ripped the door open and sprinted for the front. Through the glass front, past the mob of muggles, the pair saw the unmistakeable flash of spells and a man crouched behind a sign reading, 'Find Your Perfect Fit Sale!' Spotting the door, Lily ran for it and then stopped dead. There were multiple security bars over the door. It would be timely to unlock them and they weren't exactly ahead of schedule. Thinking fast, she screamed.<p>

Sirius looked at her puzzled until he saw the other muggles in the store panic at the noise and begin to run from the windows. "MOVE!" He cried to the remaining muggles who had frozen in fear. They quickly ran as he pointed his wands towards the windows. With a bang, the glass blasted into the air.

Protected by the sign, the glass only nicked James on the left side. The death eaters were less lucky. Having been advancing, many received full faces of glass.

James turned to see Sirius and a petit blonde emerge from the store and was washed with relief. 'Backup'

He didn't spare then another thought as he turned to the remaining death eaters and let the spells fly hard and fast.

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><p>Lily was amazed. This was her first real battle and it was truly overwhelming. She quickly learned that a deflecting shield was a good friend to have as a dangerous looking orange spell bounced of her shield with enough force to force her to take a step back. On the bright side, the rebound struck a death eater to her right. Building confidence, she spared a moment's glance at her comrades. Each fought two at a time. James was bloody and covered in sweat; Sirius still pristine but a shine glaring from his brow.<p>

Knowing this alley was in good hands, she rounded the corner in search of more adversaries. And she found one. She knocked full force into a sprinting death eater and both fell to the ground with force. The death eater's hood fell. Lily blinked in recognition but recovered quickly, stunning the man from her seated position, magically binding him and then kicking him in the stomach for good measure.

'What were the bloody chances?' Though Lily enraged. She was just glad it hadn't been Lucious or one of his cronies. While the color change and disguise makeup would do from a distance, as close up as Stuart got, anyone could recognize her stunning face.

Lily ran the rest of the way down the street until the dead end before turning back to help her fellow order members.

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><p>James heard the sound of multiple running footsteps behind him and knew the rest of the calvary had arrived. The death eaters must have realized the change in number advantage and turned to flee just as the blonde figure appeared at the other end the alley, wand clasped in her hand. She sent a red stunner at one of the remaining 6 death eaters as all 6 other men struck her with a different color spell. She collapsed on the spot and the death eaters sprinted past her.<p>

As the spells hit her, the disguise fell away and James felt his stomach drop with her.

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><p><em><strong>Thoughts? I hope you all enjoyed! I feel like I have a plan you all will like in the future but would love to know if you're liking the action or if you prefer the calmer, romance. Those comments will dictate which direction I take the story.<strong>_

_**Best,**_

_**Melissa**_


	21. Aftermath Revelations

_**IT'S ALIVE! I felt the desire to revisit the story and thought I'd give you a little update. I am cruel for leaving you on such a cliff hanger. **_

_**I apologize for leaving this story sitting here untouched for so long. When I started this story, I planned to keep this short and fluffy but saw an opportunity to tell a larger, more interesting tale. I contemplated taking it down, doing a spelling and grammar scrub and re-posting but have decided to go the hard road and write the more complex piece. I may post the more simplistic version of the story separately. Only time will tell.**_

_**So without further ado, here is the update! Enjoy and review!**_

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><p>Time seemed to stop. He could hear the blood rushing in his head. It was so loud he couldn't hear the cries of his colleagues, the pops of the death eaters apparating away around the corner, the pounding of running feet as the Order sprinted after the remaining death eaters. All he could hear, think, feel was "<em>how.<em>"

He was moving without telling his body to. Running. Kneeling at her side. He selfishly hoped for it to be another young woman with brilliantly red hair. He flipped over her body, gently brushing her mess of formerly blonde hair away from her face to confirm his fears. This morning, he was so afraid he would never see her again. Now he realized that this was a far worse – the gods were cruel for granting his dearest wish to see her again in this way. As he held her head gently, the warmth of sticky blood began covering his hands.

All at once, the situation hit him full force. He glanced around quickly and spotted Sirius. He shouted his name before turning his attention back to Lily. He checked her pulse and let out a wet gasp of relief to find it still pulsing strong. In the mess of spells, he was sure he had seen a green streak. He started waving his wand over her to detect the damage and repair what we could safely.

He felt rather than saw Sirius kneel beside him. "Is she alive?"

"Yes, but barely. She's bleeding heavily. We need to get her to the medics fast. There is only so much I can do from the field," James said in a low, controlled voice. "What was she even doing here?"

"I met up with her in Cardiff," started Sirius.

James, who had been shifting Lily into a flat position for levitation froze and faced his friend, jealousy shining his eyes. "What?!" he said, his voice deep and rough with anger, the control vanished from his voice.

"Slow your roll Prongs. It was an accident. I just bumped into her at a café. She was blonde and I didn't know." James still looked livid. There was a pause before Sirius continued. "I guess I should also mention that she's an undercover agent for the Order."

James eyes softened. "Dumbledore sent her, not me," finished Sirius.

James pushed a hand through his hair. "Okay, so the woman I'm in love with is in the Order risking her life. Brilliant."

"Woah mate, did you just say love?"

"Yeah," said James standing up. "I guess I did." With that, James pointed his wand at Lily's body and performed a silent 'Wingardium Leviosa.'

"Round up the Order members for a debrief at Hogwarts in an hour. I'll pop over once she's with the medi-wizards in stable condition and the death eaters processed." Sirius nodded and ran down the alleyway.

James carefully navigated Lily from the shopping square towards the town hall. At this point, the auror team still had the area on lock down so it was near deserted. "Hang with me Lily," James whispered, careful to keep his hand steady. "You fight with me regularly. This fight should be cake."

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><p>Everything hurt. Her body felt heavy as a stone. She could feel the soft cushion of a bed beneath her back but the rest of her ached like she had never experienced before. Her lungs burned as she breathed. A stabbing pain ripped through her stomach every few seconds and she was pretty sure someone was using her head as a snare drum.<p>

Carefully, she opened her eyes. She didn't have many occasions to visit the hospital wing in her time at Hogwarts but after a trip or two, you recognize the beautiful vaulted ceilings.

Too sore to sit up, Lily let a whisper escape into the air. "Hello?" The sound echoed around the space. "Anyone there?"

A shuffle sounded from her left, the scrapping of a chair against the floor. "Lily?" cried a male voice. The face of James Potter came into view. The look of relief made her want to cry. Upon seeing her eyes open, James cried to the room at large. "She's awake. Get your arse over here stat Davenport."

A man of about 30 rounded the corner. "Watch your mouth Potter. I'll report to your supervisor."

"A lot of good it will do you," James muttered. "Mad Eye's cursing would make Grindewald blush."

The young man scowled at James before turning to the bed. "How are you feeling Miss Evans? I was told you were caught in the cross fire during the attack in Liverpool. The aurors," Daveport shot another dirty look at James, "were supposed to clear the area of civilians following the initiation of the attack."

"No, I was…"

"We were able to retrieve your shopping," James interrupted. "It would be a shame for you to lose your _COVER_alls."

Lily snapped her mouth closed. Was there any chance that her cover could survive this? It was worth the lie for now. "Thank you," she said quietly.

"Are you feeling any pain?" Continued Davenport.

"Yes," Lily whispered, letting herself sink deeper into the mattress.

"Anywhere in particular?"

"Somewhere in the vicinity of my body," she said closing her eyes. She heard James snicker at her left, making her smile in spite of herself.

"Somewhat to be expected. You took six spells full force to the chest. Your youth definitely helped you there and should make the recovery easier. Your broken bones were mended on site by Mr. Potter and we were able to repair the rupture in your intestines within minutes of the battle's conclusion," Davenport explained calmly. "We aren't exactly sure which spells hit you so we'd like to keep you under surveillance for another day or two."

"How long have I been unconscious?"

"About 14 hours," said James quickly.

"And how long have you been here Mr. Potter?" said Lily quietly.

"About 12."

Davenport cleared his throat to shift the focus. "I'll get you some calming and pain draught Miss Evans. You should get as much rest as possible."

Davenport disappeared around the curtain leaving James and Lily alone.

Lily let her head fall to the left as James retook his seat in the wooden chair by her bedside. He looked as if he'd showered but the bags beneath his eyes showed he had likely not slept.

"Did you make it through okay?" she asked quietly.

James laughed. "After all you'd gone through you ask about me?" He shook his head with a soft smile before answering. "Yeah," he said, scratching behind his ear. "A scratch or two but nothing too serious. They injured a few of our guys but they're in stable condition. No hostages and minor damage to the shops. We were able to get six of the death eaters to the ministry. Unfortunately, at least half look to be legitimate Imperius cases and the other half are claiming to be. It's going to be rough locking them up."

Lily's mind flew back to the fight and froze on a particular face. "Did you get Stuart Younge?"

"Yes," James said, eyeing her cautiously. "How did you…?"

"I took him out right before getting blasted. He was… well… I knew him. Through a mutual acquaintance."

"Through your work as the Flame?"

Lily closed her eyes. "Not exactly." She opened her mouth to continue but stopped at the sound of footsteps.

Moments later, Davenport appeared with the draughts. "These should help Miss Evans." Allowing James to help her to a seated position, she downed the potions quickly, not quite avoiding the awful taste. Immediately, the pain lessened and her head went fuzzy.

"She should be out shortly Mr. Potter," Davenport said quietly to James, just loud enough to Lily to catch. "You should get some rest."

"I'll snag one of the other beds, I promise."

Davenport nodded and then left them alone once more.

Lily felt the drugs taking affect as James once again resumed his position in the chair at her side. "You should rest," she said in a slurred voice. "Order work and auror work… ya know… rough stuff."

James chuckled lightly. "I will soon." James let silence fall between them.

Lily felt sleep creeping up on her but also felt more interested in talking than ever before. She worked to get out, "Glad you got Stuart. Definitely not an Imperius case. Get him to Azkaban."

James' eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "Why do you say that?"

With a last effort before sleep took her, Lily said, "I'm sure his brother could use some company."

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><p><em><strong>Thoughts? Feelings? Glad it's back? Let me know!<strong>_

_**I enjoyed writing this very much. It was interesting to revisit these characters after such a long break – funny how much I still understand my vision of them. I am unsure when I will post again but it's your support that brought this piece back to life in the first place. **_

_**Best Wishes,**_

_**Melissa**_


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